The number of people with a gastrointestinal infection in Oberstdorf mountain huts has continued to increase. As the Oberallgäu district office announced on Thursday, four more reports of sick people had been added. There are now 19 sick people. According to the information, all those affected were treated on an outpatient basis and were able to be released again.
The district health department and the aid organizations involved want to continue to monitor events over the course of the weekend. There is no longer a warning about climbing up to the huts. Also, no huts were closed. The four newly infected people were said to be related to an affected hut. No other cases were reported from other huts. The cause of the outbreak will be further investigated. “However, it is questionable whether definitive clarification is possible here – that shows the experience of the past few years,” said the district office.
The authority suspects that those affected have been infected with the norovirus. A confirmation by a laboratory is still pending. It will take a few more days, they said. The norovirus is a typical diarrhea pathogen.
During a larger operation on Wednesday, around 15 sick people were brought from huts in the municipality of Oberstdorf in the Allgäu to the valley with helicopters and a material cable car. An operations center set up for this purpose in Oberstdorf was dismantled again on Wednesday evening.