Ah, those summer memories

holiday spots at the top of the South Island provides a timely warning about the dangers of dropping our guard too much.

Highly likely to be norovirus, the bug was linked first to trampers using Department of Conservation huts on the TraversSabine tramping track in Nelson Lakes National Park.

There have been some three dozen cases in less than a month there, leading to special efforts to cleanse the facilities.

This week, further reports have come of suspected gastro-viral illness at popular DOC camping ground Totaranui in Abel Tasman National Park, and from people in Nelson’s third national park, Kahurangi.

Norovirus is associated with rest homes, hospitals, boarding establishments and restaurants, while some well-publicised outbreaks on cruise ships have had that industry loading up on hand sanitisers.

It is highly infectious and

The virus spreads through eating contaminated food or drink or touching an infected person, or something they’ve been in contact with, and then failing to clean your hands sufficiently. The virus can even be carried by air. A sufferer can continue to be contagious for several days after the symptoms disappear.

This makes any outbreak at campgrounds and other places with a high turnover of visitors particularly challenging to contain.

No matter how well trained the kids are to regularly wash their hands, such standards are much harder to maintain during a summer holiday – especially one that involves going bush.

As the current gastro caseload suggests, this can be the worst of times to relax our vigilance.