Australia’s Fraser Coast, including the town of Hervey Bay, is billed as Australia’s whale watching capital and the scallops are like no other, especially those apparently hepatitis A infected frozen scallops from the Philippines which has sickened 208 Hawaiians.

Eliza Wheeler of the Fraser Coast Chronicle reports an outbreak of gastroenteritis has stricken dozens of people over the past week, inundating home doctors, and putting a strain on the region’s hospitals.

House Call Doctor’s Assistant Clinical Director Dr Ryan Harvey said this particularly aggressive bug had been making people sick across the state.

He said it appeared to be a far more virulent strain than in previous years.

“It is worse than what we have seen and causing worse illness. A lot of people who might otherwise have had an upset stomach are experiencing severe gastro,” Dr Harvey said.

He said there had been reports of a 15% increase in the number of people with gastroenteritis being admitted to hospitals.