It was calisivirus, i.e. winter sickness, that spread among the tourists at the Kebnekaise mountain station. But on Thursday, the station opens again.
– We have built additional hand washing facilities and will not serve a buffet, says Maria Persson, mountain manager at the Swedish Tourist Association.
A major outbreak of stomach sickness ravaged tourists at Kebnekaise. The mountain station was forced to close urgently, partly because of a lack of toilets.
“A large part of the spread of infection can be attributed to indirect infection between people in makeshift toilets,” writes Region Norrbotten, which took samples of infected people.
At the same time, it is not excluded that water taken from streams and lakes can be a source of infection.
Does not stop at the mountain hut
This weekend, the 110-kilometer Fjällräven Classic hike starts, and a thousand tourists are expected to arrive in the virus-affected area. They usually stop at the Kebnekaise mountain station, but that will not be the case this year.
– We will have staff standing outside and telling the hikers to pass, says Maria Persson at the Swedish Tourist Association.
More hand washing, no buffet
A large part of the spread of infection is due to indirect infection between people in makeshift toilets. The Swedish Tourist Association (STS) must install more sinks and completely skip dinner and breakfast buffets to reduce the risk of infection at the mountain station.
– We would have had significantly more guests if this had not happened. It’s usually fully booked this year, says Maria Persson.