Wellington cryptosporidiosis outbreak: High number of cases still being reported
As of the beginning of May, there have been 81 confirmed cryptosporidium cases in the Greater Wellington Region, with the majority of these being reported after the outbreak began in mid-March.
'This number is around twice the number of cases for the same time period last year, with around two thirds of cases residing in the Hutt Valley area,' Thornley said.
'The number of cases reported each week is steady, with only three new cases reported in the last week. Initially, a majority of cases were associated with swimming pool use, however, recent cases are more likely to be from close contact with an infected person.'
Health NZ will continue to liaise with swimming pools or early childhood education centres that may be associated with a case in a bid to limit further spread of the infection.
'Crypto is a gastro bug that causes vomiting and diarrhoea, and people can remain infectious for up to two weeks, which is why good hygiene and cleaning practices are important. People who have been unwell must not swim for two weeks afterdiarrhoea has stopped – crypto can still spread for two weeks after the illness has gone away.
'Children can return to preschool once symptom-free for 48 hours with a focus on promoting good hand washing and drying.'
Details about specific precautions and advice can be found in the Crypto Factsheet and by Health New Zealand Recreational Water Safety.
Lower Hutt woman Sarah, who is only being referred to by her first name, earlier said her husband and 1-year-old son caught the bug and were so violently ill 'I nearly called an ambulance'.
'[My husband] was on the toilet at 2am screaming for me to go get a bucket,' she told the Herald.
'I ran down to get a bucket and came back and he'd passed out from overheating, pretty much, but it was almost like a seizure. His eyes were open and he was leaning back.
'I freaked and went to get my phone to call an [ambulance] and slapped him and he came to.'
She said his body temperature was extremely high and he was sweaty, shaking and could not keep any water down.
'Anything he took came straight back out. He was also getting super-intense stomach cramps, it was incredibly painful for him.'
She joked the experience was an example of 'through sickness and health, pretty much'.
Meanwhile, her toddler was 'vomiting and sh***ing left, right and centre'.
He was 'really hard to wake', but was 'happy enough' when he was conscious.
Sarah said the bug was 'brutal'.
Health officials have confirmed cryptosporidiosis cases were connected to the toddler pool at Te Ngaengae and the hydrotherapy pool at Huia.
In response, Hutt City Council closed and disinfected both pools using high doses of chlorine and ultraviolet light in accordance with public health guidelines.
'As soon as we were made aware, we took immediate action,' read a statement at the time from Hutt City Pools + Fitness.
'Both pools were closed and underwent an intensive treatment process … There is no indication there had been further cases from the complex.'
As a further precaution, several pools were drained and refilled.
Council's head of aquatics, Iain Brown, said while they didn't have complete data, it appeared general attendance at pools was down about 15% in the weeks following the initial outbreak, though this has since recovered.
'We have done everything required by Public Health to keep our pools free from crypto and have worked effectively to keep the public informed about the issue.
'Pools are not the source of crypto outbreaks. It is introduced by pool users who carry the gastro bug. This can happen unwittingly as people suffering from crypto can still be infectious up to two weeks following recovery.'
Health recommendations include:
Soap and water instead of hand sanitiser, which does not kill the parasite.
Close monitoring of tamariki hand washing, especially after illness.
Cleaning with hot, soapy water before applying disinfectants like bleach, as crypto is resistant to many cleaners.
Strict pool hygiene rules, including ensuring children shower and use the toilet before swimming, and avoiding pools for two weeks post-illness.
The parasite cryptosporidium can cause vomiting, cramping and diarrhoea, and is not easily detected in regular pool-water testing.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scoop
12 hours ago
- Scoop
On Health Narrowly Conceived, And Ukraine's Latest Impasse
Imagine an assessment of public health delivery that -for starters – ignored the adequacy of current funding and staffing levels, or the extent of unmet need. Imagine if this evaluation also omits the short term/long term implications of the privatisation of health services and the adequacy of the current training, recruitment, retention, and upskilling needs in health care. If you want an overview of Te Whatu Ora and its operational environment that basically ignores all of the above factors, then you're in luck. Because Lester Levy, the Health NZ Commissioner, has written a self justifying editorial about Te Whatu Ora in the NZ Medical Journal that judges the organisation's success purely on whether it is adhering to the financial constraints placed on it by government. In Levy Land, things are going great: Between July 2024 and May 2025, the monthly deficit fell by 85 per cent, and by the end of the financial year the organisation was under budget. The organisation is now on a credible path to break even by 2026/2027.' Entirely omitted from the analysis is the human cost involved in achieving that turnaround. There is little in the way of concession, even on narrow economic terms, that those finances may be looking better now partly because the (under-estimated) initial costs of centralisation are now behind Te Whatu Ora, and the benefits of scrapping the multiple levels of DHB bureaucracy are now starting to kick in. Ah, but to attribute such gains to Te Whatu Ora itself would be to fail in what seems to have been the prime purposes of Levy's editorial. These include: touting the improvements since he came on board as commissioner, putting a positive spin on the austerity measures the government has imposed, and making the narrative in public health more about the state of the books than the state of the patients. Talking of whom, I'm not sure that many people standing and waiting 17 or 24 hours for care in crowded EDs - or who are struggling to access a GP - will be overjoyed to hear that Te Whatu Ora is now living within the means allocated to it. I think they'd prefer a public health system funded adequately and properly staffed. That's not my department, says Professor Levy. Footnote: BTW, 'Not my department' is a phrase that may ring a bell with fans of the political satirist Tom Lehrer, who died a few weeks ago at the age of 97. From a concert in the 1960s, here is Lehrer's classic song about a bright guy who isn't overly concerned about the moral context, or who his latest paymaster may be: Cutting Ukraine Adrift In a Werewolf exclusive, here's a clandestine recording of the recent Putin/ Trump summit meeting in Alaska, on Ukraine. Putin: Nyet. Trump: What's your golf handicap these days? That seems to have been the gist of the Alaska meeting, with Trump simply serving as the megaphone for transmitting Putin's demands back to Ukraine, and to the rest of Europe. Surprisingly, the subsequent White House meeting between Trump, Volodymyr Zelensky and a few European leaders has raised the unlikely prospect of the US providing a security guarantee to Ukraine if (somehow) Zelensky can meet Putin's demand to gift the Kremlin with about 20% of Ukraine's sovereign territory as a reward for his invasions in 2014, and 2022. In whatever shape it is offered – from a signed pledge on paper, to US boots on the ground - you can be sure that any US security guarantee will be highly conditional. The likely condition will be concessions to Putin on territory – not merely the Crimea, but the entire Donbass region on Ukraine's eastern border with Russia. In essence, Zelensky is being made an offer that he has to refuse, and everyone else knows it, Trump included. The likely upshot of the Washington talks will be that Zelensky will be painted into a corner where he – and not Putin – get portrayed as being the intransigent obstacle to peace. Indeed, even if Zelensky did make land concessions – and he would be forced to resign if he did – this would only bring ' peace' until Putin wanted more. Putin's other demand is that Ukraine must never become part of NATO. Yet ironically, any meaningful security guarantee by the Americans would have to look very much like the premise of collective defensive ( set out in Article Five of the Washington Treaty) central to NATO's very existence. Article Five says that any military attack on a NATO member is to be regarded as an attack on all of them. So any meaningful US pledge to defend Ukraine would lock the US into a military conflict with Russia, in the event of any further aggression by the Kremlin. It is unlikely that Trump would make such a commitment. With reason, Trump is probably gambling that Zelensky will refuse to make the requisite land concessions to Putin. Similarly Zelensky is trying to avoid being typecast as a barrier to peace, so is pressing Trump for a security guarantee he knows Trump will probably not make. Putin meanwhile, is ruling out any NATO security force being deployed in Ukraine, just in case anyone thinks that might be a Plan B if the Americans won't put boots on the ground. It looks very much like what used to be called (offensively) a 'Mexican stand-off.' It may take a while to unravel. Putin's Mentor In his role as a Russian proxy, Trump has always been willing to cede Europe to Putin, while the US focusses on its conflict with China. In that respect, they've been like Mafia chieftains carving up the territory. When face to face in Alaska, it would have been more surprising if Trump had stood up to Putin, and imposed the conditional threat of severe economic sanctions if Putin failed to table a viable compromise. Not a chance. Essentially, what Ukraine is facing is a demand to surrender that's being relayed via a good cop (Trump)/bad cop (Putin) routine. For some, it may be consoling to treat Trump as stupid. Yet as he pillages America (a) for his own enrichment and (b) to fuel his unquenchable vanity, the strategising of Russia and China stands in stark and scary contrast. For decades, Western neo-liberals have been preaching the inherent inefficiency of the state, but China has proved the exact opposite. China's state-funded efforts are already delivering it technological superiority on the global stage. Similarly with Russia, it is striking is see how consistent Putin's actions are with the plans set out long ago by his ideological mentor, the Russian hyper-nationalist Alexander Dugin. Dugin's 600 page manifesto The Foundations of Geopolitics: The Geopolitical Future of Russia was published almost 30 years ago, back in 1997. A good backgrounder on Dugin is available here: In eight parts [Dugin] establishes the strategies of Russia's adversaries, devises his own, and provides bold steps to regain Russia's position of dominance lost at the end of the Cold War. The most trenchant of these recommendations include the invasion of Georgia, the annexation of Ukraine, the separation of Britain from the rest of Europe, and the sowing of divisive seeds in the United States, each of which should sound quite familiar. Georgia got invaded in 2008, Ukraine in 2014 and 2022, and in between Britain left the EU. NATO is being weakened and Russian cyber-attacks have been one source of division among many in the United States, a dis-integration process helped along by Putin's fanboy in the White House. (In France, any future ascent to power by Marine Le Pen would give Putin another crucial ally, in the heart of western Europe.) And oh yes, Ukraine did feature prominently in Dugin's calculations, over a quarter of a century ago: Dugin grew in relative fame after the Ukraine conflict began [in 2014], as this was his most efficacious recommendation. As he explained, 'Ukraine, as an independent state with some territorial ambitions, poses a huge danger to the whole of Eurasia, and without solving the Ukrainian problem, it makes no sense to talk about continental geopolitics.' Historically, Ukraine was a significant economic hub on land, and much of Russia's natural gas exports used to travel through it into Europe. Now, the Nord Stream 1 pipeline runs under the Baltic Sea straight into Germany, the Turkstream pipeline crosses the Black Sea into Turkey and goes from there into south-eastern Europe, while the Yamal- Europe pipeline runs into Germany via Belarus and Poland. For all its posturing, Europe still has a heavy energy reliance on Russia. Dugin could see this one coming, too. At the time that Dugin was writing in the mid 1990s the annexing of Ukraine was a key part of his wider vision of making Europe more dependent on Russia for its energy needs, and less reliant on the energy reserves in the Middle East over which the US and Europe still exerted some degree of neo-colonial control. In other words, there has been a long-term blueprint for Putin's actions and ambitions in Europe and elsewhere. Putin's 5,000 word essay that famously mis-represented the history of Ukraine – and basically denied its right to exist - was published barely six months before the 2022 invasion. It could have been written by Dugin. In sum, Putin cannot be patronised any longer as just a reactionary kleptocrat trying to shore up Russia's fading ambitions on the world stage. During the Cold War, Russia controlled an empire in eastern Europe. Putin will turn 73 in October, and he seems intent on restoring as much of that empire as possible before he departs the scene. The current US President appears to have no interest in restraining these revived imperial ambitions. Footnote: Of late, calls have been made for Trump to impose tough economic sanctions on Putin over Ukraine. Unfortunately, that horse may have bolted. For the past 15 years, Russia has been insulating itself against the effect of US-led economic sanctions. In 2022, the US. Germany, France and the UK finally buckled to pressure and agreed to suspend from the international banking system [aka SWIFT] a number of banks on an already sanctioned list of Russian banks. The reason for this selective exercise? Once again, it comes back to Europe's energy problem. Before the Ukraine invasion, the likes of Germany, Italy, and France would pay Russia for their energy fixes through the SWIFT banking system. Cutting off Russia's access overnight to SWIFT (and thus to their own imports of Russian energy) would have sent petrol and heating costs through the roof across Europe. These costs remain a politically sensitive issue during the northern winter. Its not accidental that the West's sanctions on Russia over Ukraine have leaked like a sieve. In the interim, Russia hasn't been standing still. Since 2022 Russia has built itself an effective alternative transaction system to SWIFT, and has rapidly decoupled from its reliance on the US greenback as its currency for international transactions. (It is also developing a domestic alternative to the Internet.) Meanwhile, Europe's dependency on Russia as a cheap energy source has reduced only somewhat: Germany joined France, Belgium, and Spain as key importers of Russian LNG in 2024, a new study reveals. German energy company SEFE, federally-owned by the government, imported 58 shipments from Yamal LNG into the EU port of Dunkirk, a 650 percent increase over 2023. Some of this Russian LNG finds its way into Germany counter to its government's assurances that it does not import Russian gas. So when Zelensky went to the White House with his European friends, he would be well aware that his country's fate may be an over-riding priority for Ukraine, but it isn't for anyone else at the briefing. Songs for Zelensky Zelensky has his critics at home and abroad,but his resilience under fire has been remarkable. Having to flatter and politely cajole Trump in the face of Trump's inherent dishonesty would be bad for anyone's blood pressure. Endurance. Patience. Hope for better times to come. Here's great gospel song that celebrates those qualities: And while you do stuff for others, here's a soulful reminder to look after yourself:
NZ Herald
4 days ago
- NZ Herald
Bowel screening uptake in Bay of Plenty appalling
It is a similar story in the Lakes health district, covering Taupō and Rotorua, where 27,694 were sent between August 1, 2022, and May 26, 2025. Of those, only 15,039 were returned. These figures are alarming because New Zealand has one of the world's highest bowel cancer rates, and it is the second-highest cause of cancer. That means an average of about eight people a day are being told they have it. It's not just an older person's cancer either, because more than 350 people under 50 are diagnosed annually. Many people know someone who has survived bowel cancer or died from it, and much has been done over the past eight years to try to get in front of the problem. The National Bowel Screening Programme started in July 2017 and has been introduced by all the former 20 district health boards, with Bay of Plenty being the last. People are invited to join the programme at 60, and are then sent a free home-test kit every two years until the age of 74. The Government is lowering the eligibility age to 58 nationwide from March. It has, however, been criticised for axing plans to lower the age for Māori and Pacific people to 50. The national charity Bowel Cancer New Zealand wants the screening age lowered to match Australia, where it is 45. It is, understandably, unhappy with the Government's slow progress. The media and advertising also play important roles in raising awareness. There are countless news articles in the media, and the national bowel screening multimedia campaign launched in July 2022 encourages people to take part in screening, emphasising it is free, quick and simple, 'and you can do it at home'. The good news is that Health NZ credits the campaign with raising awareness. But perhaps among the most powerful weapons for raising awareness are the individual patient stories. Kiwis such as Tauranga survivor Rachael Ferguson, who was 32 when she was diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer in December 2020. She has been 'clear' since surgery in February 2021. Then there's Rotorua father Matthew Keogan, who was 49 when he was diagnosed in 2021. He was told to get his affairs in order and say goodbye to his family as he might live only another three to six months. He has made a miraculous recovery after chemotherapy and immunotherapy with pembrolizumab (Keytruda). Last month, Northland's Cheryl Waaka, a former Black Fern and mother of two teenagers, talked about facing her toughest opponent yet: stage 4 bowel cancer. There are plenty of other personal stories on Bowel Cancer NZ's website, each offering an insight into that person's journey, each offering hope and each helping drive a greater understanding. All these people are brave and inspirational. So, given there's been a national screening campaign, heightened awareness, personal stories, and a lowering of the screening age, a reasonable question remains: Why would people fail to do something simple that costs them nothing but could save their lives? Reasons could include fear, stigma and people simply not wanting to go through what they perceive as the unpleasant procedure of having to collect samples and send them off. However, it would be fair to say some people probably can't be bothered, are ignorant or believe it won't happen to them. Whatever the reasons, the Bay of Plenty and Lakes figures are appalling. As survivor Rachael Ferguson rightly says, there are 'so many people under the age of 60 that are screaming out to have those kits' that eligible people not returning them is simply 'wasted resources'. The Government needs to lower the screening age further. At the same time, everyone eligible needs to take up the offer. It could save their lives. Bowel Cancer NZ chief executive Peter Huskinson has the final word. 'That free test in your mailbox doesn't just detect cancer – it can stop it before it starts,' he says. 'Don't leave it in a drawer. Put it by the loo and get it done.' Wise words indeed. Sign up to the Daily H, a free newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
NZ Herald
4 days ago
- NZ Herald
Health NZ board costs could triple amid deficit and staffing woes
The Cabinet signed off on the exceptional fees; Health Minister Simeon Brown said the contingency would be drawn on only in 'exceptional circumstances' and approval is at his sole discretion. The pay levels are extraordinary and far outstrip the Government's recently increased fees guidance for board work; however, the amount of work on which the Health NZ fees are predicated is also extraordinary. Health NZ was established in 2022 through the combination of the country's district health boards (DHBs). It is the largest Crown-owned entity, its budget tops $27 billion, and it's responsible for either delivering or funding the vast majority of the country's healthcare. It is also struggling with deficit spending and poor financial management, specialist staff shortages, widespread complaints of burnout by clinical staff and long wait times for patients. Health NZ board chairman Lester Levy is up for a maximum payment of $450,000. Photo / Mark Mitchell Union representatives greeted the news of the extraordinary fees with incredulity. The New Zealand Nurses Organisation, which represents the single largest chunk of the Health NZ workforce, has highlighted what it calls 'cost-cutting' and 'staff shortages' in ongoing contract negotiations – a further strike of two days is planned for September. President Kerri Nuku said the high board fees are in stark contrast to the Government's attitude toward the nurses, midwives and other healthcare assistants who provide New Zealanders' healthcare. 'At a time when understaffing at hospitals has actually become the norm, and patients' safety is a serious concern, these figures defy belief.' Public Service Association national secretary Fleur Fitzsimons echoed the sentiment. 'Health workers are seeing their own wages kept low, as well as the continued and deliberate underfunding of the whole health system. The hypocrisy is palpable – there's no money for care and support and mental health workers helping our most vulnerable, but there is plenty for those at the top?' Brown emphasised the new board receives the same daily rates that were set under the previous Labour Government, albeit for a far higher time commitment and total spend. He said the board has a governance role that is 'more extensive than in previous years', noting the entity's 'significant, ongoing challenges'. Those difficulties are both substantive and political. The Government has staked considerable credibility on eliminating Health NZ's deficit spending – estimated at $1.1b in the past financial year – and reaching a series of health performance targets, soon to be embedded in law. Nurses Organisation co-leader Kerri Nuku says the board pay figures defy belief. Photo / Paul Taylor Pay breakdown Chair Lester Levy receives a day rate of $2500 for up to 130 days' work, with a further 50 days' work provided for in the contingency. His term covers only the current financial year. Deputy chair Dr Andrew Connolly receives a day rate of $2000 for up to 80 days' work, with a further 50 days' work provided for in the contingency. And five board members – Roger Jarrold, Dr Frances Hughes, Parekawhia McLean, Peter McCardle and Terry Moore – receive a day rate of $1750 each for up to 80 days' work, with a further 30 days' work apiece provided for in the contingency. The board also includes Crown observer Hamiora Bowkett, who heads the small but important 'health assurance unit' – now housed in the Ministry of Health – providing advice directly to Brown. Bowkett is a public servant and not covered by board fees. Public sector board pay is typically predicated on 50 days' work a year for the chair, and 30 days for other board members – extensive reading and preparation is not often included in this total. Brown said the current fees are fixed for 18 months, to reflect 'the additional work required' during the board re-establishment phase, and the arrangement will be reviewed toward the end of 2026. He claimed the Health NZ problems flow from 'a botched merger' of DHBs under the last Government, during the Covid-19 pandemic. A Deloitte review of the entity's financial performance, done in October 2024, found myriad problems, including that the agency relied largely on a single, error-prone Excel spreadsheet (in fiscal 2023/24) to track and report on some $28b of expenditure. Comparisons with other public sector boards Even without the half-million-dollar contingency, the underlying $1.185m board cost appears to rank as the highest in the public sector. By comparison, board costs at the Reserve Bank of New Zealand and the Financial Markets Authority come in well below the $1m mark – both are reckoned to be among the sector's best paid. Board costs for other large Crown entities such as Kāinga Ora (Homes and Communities) and ACC (Accident Compensation Corporation) are closer to half a million dollars. In June last year, the Government declared a loss of confidence in the Health NZ board, which it dissolved and replaced with Levy as commissioner and two deputy commissioners. A year of commissioners In fiscal 2024/25, Levy earned $320,000 as Health NZ commissioner, with additional expenses of $20,400, including: $10,600 for flights, $4855 for accommodation, and $2599 for taxis (parking and mileage made up the balance). Levy is Auckland-based and the work entailed frequent travel to Wellington, a Health NZ spokeswoman said. He worked alongside deputy commissioners Ken Whelan and Roger Jarrold; Health NZ has not yet released their fees and expenses. Levy is a professor of digital health leadership at the Auckland University of Technology and a medical doctor. His AUT workload is 15 hours per week, divided between research and teaching four courses (two per semester). Labour health spokeswoman Ayesha Verrall during a select committee hearing. Photo / Mark Mitchell Levy is also chair of the Health Research Council, a commitment of about five hours per week, a Ministry of Health spokesperson said. Labour's health spokeswoman, Ayesha Verrall, criticised the new board arrangements as a 'licence for Lester Levy to act like he is the executive director of the board, rather than its chair, centralising power to enact cuts and a hiring freeze'. Verrall also said Levy played politics when, as Health NZ commissioner, he attempted to shift some $130m in financial costs from fiscal 2024/25 into the previous financial year. The move was blocked by the Office of the Auditor-General, she said, but, if allowed, would have made HNZ's current financial predicament appear less dismal. There is little doubt that Levy's tenure to date has been one of highly centralised control. A May report on Health NZ's financial performance by the Treasury for Finance Minister Nicola Willis highlighted 'the commissioner's tight top-down financial controls' and his 'highly centralised' regime. The document, released under the provisions of the OIA (Official Information Act), also indicated that Levy has had some success this calendar year in reducing Health NZ's monthly overspend, but that his managerial controls may be 'unsustainably tight' as Health NZ shifts to a new operating model, including devolved budget accountabilities for regions and districts. Underscoring the political risk Health NZ's performance poses to the entire Government, the Treasury highlighted a new series of monthly health joint ministers meetings with Willis, aimed at keeping her abreast of 'financial performance, capability, and risk at Health New Zealand' over the next year. Fees guidance The Health NZ board fees eclipse those provided for in the Government's guidance. The fees framework for board pay was updated at the end of last month, and provided for an 80% pay increase for the boards of the largest and most complex Crown entities. The maximum fee for board chairs is now $162,200, and the maximum fee for board members is $80,400. The framework provides only guidance to ministers for setting fees, to provide consistency across Crown-owned bodies and to 'contain expenditure of public funds within reasonable limits'.
