In the Allgäu, several people with gastrointestinal complaints were flown out of mountain huts on Wednesday. The Oberallgäu district office in Sonthofen initially recommended not staying in a hut in the municipality of Oberstdorf because of the unclear infection situation.
In the affected area, there was a large deployment of rescue workers. Around 50 forces from the Bavarian Red Cross (BRK) and Johannitern are working in cooperation with the mountain rescue service, said a spokeswoman for the Oberallgäu district office. As reported by Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR), a total of 15 patients with symptoms of illness have so far been transported from three mountain huts by rescue helicopter.
According to the district office, the norovirus was already detected on Monday in a person who had visited one of the affected huts. It remains to be clarified whether the other people affected are also affected. The authorities assume that around 300 to 400 people are in the area. “It’s not yet possible to estimate how many people have been infected.”
According to BR, none of those affected had a life-threatening illness. The head emergency doctor, Martin Fiedermutz, told the broadcaster: “Infections with the norovirus are common in mountain huts.” It is impossible to say where it came from in this case.
According to the Robert Koch Institute, the norovirus is transmitted within hours and is highly contagious. Symptoms include violent vomiting and severe diarrhea.