Nicci Rousseau

Knysna Oyster Festival manager Nicci Rousseau said: "Festival organisers are 100 per cent certain that the stomach upsets which plagued some visitors to the festival were not caused by food poisoning, and were definitely not the result of eating bad oysters or drinking local water."

She said a number of visitors who had become ill during the festival claimed that they had contracted food poisoning.

"We were obviously concerned, so we did some research among local doctors who confirmed that they had seen a number of patients with a stomach bug.

"We also had the water and oysters tested during the week.Both received a clean bill of health from municipal health inspector James McCartney."

Rousseau said the symptoms of the tummy ailment were similar to those of food poisoning, including nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea, as well as flu-like symptoms including fever and an aching body.

"We spoke to numerous people who came down with the bug and what was very clear was that people who hadn‘t even eaten oysters got the bug.

"Groups of people who had eaten the same food at the same restaurants reported that only one member of their group became ill, and in most cases the reaction time after eating was longer than the three to four hours it takes to react to food poisoning," she said.

Rousseau said this had been confirmed by a local doctor who was on call during the weekend at the Knysna Private Hospital.

A spokesman for Knysna Tourism, Nicci Rousseau, yesterday said Nancarrow was returning from an international marketing show in Ireland to promote Knysna and was at the airport waiting to collect his luggage when the attack happened.

Knysna mayor Eleanore Bouw-Spies and Oyster Festival manager Nicci Rousseau were both at the whisky and oyster event.
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Rousseau said it was looking to be the best festival yet.