Three days of peace, love, music and… gastro.
Being a “Generation Joneser”, your BP correspondent is far too young to get all wistful and dreamy-eyed about the 1969 musical mud-fest called Woodstock.
In fact, despite being a fan of an eclectic range of amplified music, we can truthfully say we’ve never been tempted to hand over our hard-earned for the dubious privilege of spending multiple days in a field full of fellow fans with limited access to the creature comforts to which we have become accustomed.
For us, no amount of electronic mayhem and communal canoodling can compensate for the absence of a clean place to drop a deuce and well-engineered bedding on which to “knit up the ravelled sleeve of care”.
Not to mention the hazards to health these youthful summer gatherings can engender.
But don’t just take our word for it. We have boffins from Flinders University to thank for new research released last week detailing just what a risk to wellness these festivals may present, as well as some handy tips for staying safe if you simply can’t resist the urge to attend.
The global study looked 19 multi-day events attended predominantly by young people, ranging from music festivals and cultural celebrations, to sporting and religious gatherings.
What they found was infectious disease outbreaks (70% of reported emergencies) were the most common public health threats, with influenza, measles, and meningococcal disease topping the list.
Foodborne illnesses, such as hepatitis A, were also a threat, accounting more a bit more than 20% of incidents.
The study’s lead author, Flinders University epidemiologist Associate Professor Jacqueline Stephens, said the findings highlighted the importance of proactive planning and collaboration between event organisers and health authorities, along with the importance of vaccinations and hygiene for event attendees.
“Close social interactions, shared accommodation, and sometimes risky behaviours create the perfect storm for disease transmission,” she said in a media release.
“Simple measures like vaccination, good hygiene, and safe food practices can make a huge difference in safeguarding against the risks.”
The researchers added that their analysis also highlighted the importance of enforceable food safety standards and better training for food handlers at events, noting that past illness outbreaks had been traced to contaminated coleslaw, undercooked meat, and infected food workers.
Perhaps those police sniffer dogs might be better employed checking out the quality control and food handling practices of the catering facilities instead of searching for illegal substances secreted in patrons’ nether regions?
And event organisers might be encouraged to make more public address announcements similar to Woodstock’s infamous “Don’t eat the brown acid” advisory.
Although it seems “Don’t eat the yellow coleslaw” could be more appropriate.
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