Even though summer is around the corner, doctors warn the stomach flu is still in full force.
Spokesperson for the Arizona Department of Health Services, Holly Ward, says so far for 2017, a total of 60 outbreaks have been reported; 33 of which are still under investigation.
To put this in perspective, Arizona had 137 outbreaks in 2015.
Ward says specimens are not available for testing in all cases, so the cause of the outbreak is not always known.
However, generally Ward says, these outbreaks are caused by norovirus, shiga-toxin producing E. coli, salmonella, and listeria.
Ward says under the Arizona Administrative Code, entities including healthcare providers, schools and child care establishments are required to report outbreaks of diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting to public health agencies.
The 2015 Infectious Disease Outbreak Report can be found here.
