550 people report illness after P.E.I. shellfish festival, health officials say

More than 550 people who attended the P.E.I. International Shellfish Festival last weekend reported getting sick, according to the province’s chief public health officer. 

“This is the biggest gastrointestinal illness outbreak we have on record,” Dr. Heather Morrison told CBC News on Friday.

Stool samples taken from people who ate food at the festival have tested positive for norovirus, Morrison said.

“That makes sense to us given all the information that we have.” 

The illness caused four people to go to emergency departments, and one person to be hospitalized, Morrison said. 

Norovirus is transmitted in a number of ways, like eating contaminated food, touching contaminated surfaces, or contact with someone who has the virus, she said. 

The CPHO began its investigation earlier this week after people began reporting symptoms including nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach cramps and fever after attending the event, which was held Sept. 19-22 in Charlottetown.

Organizers said over 3,200 people attended the shellfish festival on Saturday alone, and the four-day attendance was over 9,000.

Anyone with symptoms was advised to fill out an online food questionnaire in an effort to help track the extent of the outbreak and determine the cause. 

“It was more people than we had initially even thought,” she said.

“I would venture [to] guess there were probably more people that were sick than even responded to the questionnaire.” 

The Chief Public Health Office also contacted the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and other health-care staff to remind them to take stool samples from anyone who presented with symptoms. 

Despite the highly contagious nature of norovirus, hospitals have not reported a recent spike in cases, Morrison said.  

Future guidance

“With these kinds of outbreaks, everyone learns and no one wants anyone to get sick,” Morrison said. “It’s a reminder I think these … things can happen.” 

As part of its investigation, the CPHO made six recommendations to lower the risk of gastrointestinal illness outbreaks at future events: 

1. Additional health inspections before and during the festival.

2. Enhanced sanitation of food preparation areas and common touch surfaces to prevent potential cross-contamination of foods.

3. Develop a policy to exclude staff and food handlers from working when ill and have a dedicated staff person to check daily with staff and food handlers about illnesses.

4. Have easily visible hand washing stations available at all washrooms and develop a policy to ensure they are checked and re-filled during the event.

5. Work with a sanitation company to ensure decontamination of common touch surfaces in the washrooms daily.

6. Maintain samples of prepared foods in cold storage for a minimum of 48 hours after the event has ended.

Going forward, Morrison thinks the shellfish festival and similar events will be “safer than they ever have been,” based on what was learned from this incident. 

Morrison said the CPHO will work with the shellfish festival’s organizers next year, and do more inspections before and during the festival. 

Shellfish festival organizers are “fully committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of all attendees and will continue to actively implement recommendations of the CPHO,” the health authority said in a news release.