Norovirus shuts wards at one UK hospital in five

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Norovirus shuts wards at one hospital in five

By , Medical Editor and Aislinn Simpson

Last Updated: 10:53pm GMT 03/01/2008

A fifth of the country's hospitals have wards that have been shut as

the winter vomiting virus strikes staff and patients.

Cases of the virulent nororvirus bug are expected to peak at about

200,000 a week over the next month.

The disease, which causes two or three days of violent vomiting and

diarrhoea, is at its highest level for five years. Doctors have warned

patients to stay at home to avoid spreading the bug.

Hospitals are especially vulnerable and anyone who has been ill with

the bug recently is asked not to visit relatives for fear of taking

the highly contagious infection on to wards.

A survey by The Daily Telegraph found that 30 hospital trusts in

England had closed wards to new patients as staff struggled to contain

the bug and many other hospitals had recently suffered outbreaks.

The reporting system is voluntary so the number of closures could be

higher.

NHS Direct reported yesterday that 1.2 million people asked its staff

for advice over the extended Christmas period. Vomiting was the second

most common complaint after dental pain.

Norovirus is the most common cause of infectious stomach upset and

although extremely unpleasant it is not normally dangerous, although

it can lead to complications in vulnerable, elderly or very young

patients. Hospitals in the North West and South West have been hit

hard in this winter's norovirus season.

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One of the hospitals worst affected is the Royal Oldham Hospital in

Greater Manchester, where 66 cases were reported.

Fin McNicol, the hospital's spokesman, said that strict infection

control measures and a ban on all but essential family visits had

brought infection numbers down to 40 and bed closures down from 40 to

26 yesterday.

" Everyone knows someone that's poorly just now, " he said. " In terms of

the virus's effects on the hospital, it does appear to be more than

normal but we have tried and tested prevention measures in place. "

The Royal United Hospital in Bath has seven wards closed. Francesca

, director of nursing at the hospital, said: " We do have a

significant number of wards closed and are taking the situation very

seriously.

" We want to keep these wards closed for the time it takes to get rid

of the infection and we will only reopen when it is safe to do so. "

She added: " We want to encourage anyone with symptoms of vomiting and

diarrhoea to seek advice from their GP first.

" People are still turning up at the hospital which could cause serious

capacity issues.

" We need sufficient beds to cope with serious cases and would like to

ask the public to offer us their continued support. "

Some regions appear to have avoided ward closures including the East

Midlands, London and the North East.

A spokesman for the Health Protection Agency said: " It is not unusual

to see outbreaks occurring in hospitals, as the virus quickly spreads

in confined environments.

" Taking action early in an outbreak by closing a ward to new

admissions can help control outbreaks. "

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/01/04/nnoro104.xml