More than 60 people have fallen ill with several presenting to hospital after a suspected virulent form of gastroenteritis spread through a private function in Gungahlin.
ACT Health said on Friday it was continuing to investigate the cause of the outbreak that left victims suffering from vomiting and diarrhoea
Most of those who fell ill did so in the days following a private function at Eastlakes Gungahlin on Sunday, March 17.
The number affected only includes those confirmed by ACT Health, and there may be many more in the community who have not reported or have been privately treated.
Four people reported presenting to the Canberra Hospital Emergency Department for treatment. However, none were admitted. ACT Health says the age range of those known to be affected was between 9 and 53 years old.
The health investigation was launched on March 18 when ACT Health became aware that dozens of people had apparently been struck down and displayed much of the same symptoms - some worse than others. All had either attended the club that night, or had contact with those who did.
"Recent food safety inspections of the [Eastlakes Gungahlin] venue demonstrate no ongoing risk to the public," the directorate said in a statement.
"ACT Health is continuing to investigate the cause of the outbreak."
The illness appears to have originated at the March 17 presentation evening for the Gungahlin United Football Club, attended by parents, club officials and over 200 of the club's underage players.
There were three one-hour waves of presentations at the club that evening from 6.45pm onwards.
"Finger food" on platters including party pies, spinach filos and meatballs were served by the Eastlakes Gunghalin staff to players, parents and officials after each of the presentations.
The communications officer for the club was one of those struck down by the mystery illness but the club's chief executive, Neil Harlock, said in a message that "this matter is currently being managed by ACT Health and we are working within their guidance and expertise".
Viral gastroenteritis, often called "viral gastro" or "stomach flu", is a common viral infection of the stomach and bowel that results in vomiting and diarrhoea. ACT Health says on its website it is "usually a mild illness and can be caused by a number of different viruses such as norovirus and rotavirus".
The executive chef for the Eastlakes group, Anthony Craig, said that he had provided ACT Health's investigation team with the complete digital kitchen and servery records from that evening and those of a previous evening, where the same food had been served for another event, and had been fully compliant with all information and sampling requested by the health investigation team.
"We're gutted, of course, that it was an event that was held at our club which appears to be a point of origin for this illness because these parents, these children, these people are all part of our community," he said.
"I had three or four ACT Health investigators here on the Tuesday and we opened all our records to them; we pride ourselves on the cleanliness of our kitchens and the care taken in food preparation and storage."
The results of tests conducted on the food, together with swabs and other samples, will not be known until next week. Generally, symptoms of food poisoning appear within four to eight hours of consumption; the first symptoms of this illness appeared some 30 hours or more after the event.
