Tummy bug costs Malta nearly Lm7.5m a year

Infectious intestinal disease - sometimes known as the tummy bug - costs Malta just under Lm7.5 million a year, with an average of 450 people falling ill every day, a study has found.

The study, carried out by Disease Surveillance Unit head Charmaine Gauci, found that the disease costs the country more than Lm4.5 million in health care costs and Lm2.2 million in lost productivity, with 14 per cent of those falling ill needing to take time off from work.

They also spent more than Lm500,000 on medicines while close to Lm100,000 were spent on other personal costs and on laboratory tests.

The main symptoms of infectious intestinal diseases include diarrhoea, vomiting, fever, abdominal pain and nausea. These diseases are often referred to by people as food poisoning or gastric flu. However, they include a variety of illnesses caused by the transmission of micro-organisms (viruses, bacteria or parasites) through food, water, the environment or from an infected person.

The study, whose results have been published in both local and international scientific peer reviewed journals, is the first epidemiological study of infectious intestinal disease in Malta. It was carried out as part of a PhD degree in communicable disease epidemiology.

Just over 3,500 people were contacted over a 21-month period and 99.7 per cent of them accepted to participate in the study. Of these, 99 - 3.18 per cent - were found to have had an infectious intestinal disease in the previous 28 days.

The average duration of illness was 4.14 days.

Forty per cent of sufferers said at least one other person living in the same household had also suffered from the same problem in the previous four weeks.

Just under five per cent of sufferers required hospitalisation. While mild cases did not require time off work, 11.7 per cent of severe cases needed five days off.

Some students also missed going to school for up to six days .

More than half of those who fell ill sought the advice of a doctor or other health care provider. More than 60 per cent took medication.

Dr Gauci pointed out that an improvement in hygiene methods, sanitation and the early treatment of these illnesses has greatly reduced deaths in developed countries, but the burden of illness remains high.

She said the public needs to practise safe food handling to avoid infectious intestinal disease that is transmitted through food. Moreover, areas where the sick person is staying should be cleaned with proper disinfectant agents.

Hand washing is also imperative in such cases since germs are everywhere - on door handles, on remote controls, keyboards, toilet, kitchen and practically any surface. If not removed, these germs can get into your nose, eyes or mouth.

The WHO's golden rules for safe food preparation

• Cook raw foods thoroughly (temperature must reach at least 70 degrees Celsius) since raw foods and water might become contaminated.

• Eat cooked food immediately as bacteria begin to grow when cooked foods cool to room temperature.

• Prepare food for only one meal.

• Store cooked food properly at below five degrees Celsius or above 60 degrees Celsius, especially if they are stored for more than four hours.

• Reheat stored food thoroughly with all parts reaching at least 70 degrees Celsius.

• Avoid contact between raw foods and cooked foods.

• Choose foods which are processed safely.

• Wash hands repeatedly.

• Keep all food preparation premises meticulously clean.

• Use safe water.