Winter Vomiting Virus Closes Hospital Beds

The highly-contagious Novovirus has forced the closure of manyhospital beds across Britain, prompting warnings from health officials about the serious threat posed by the bug, best known as the winter vomiting virus.

Maurice Madeo, deputy director of infection prevention and control at Doncaster Royal Infirmary, where wards have been closed to new admissions, said the condition could be fatal.

Warning people of the importance of thoroughly washing their hands, he said: "We can't be too careful about limiting the spread of all infections.

"An infection on top of another medical condition can prove fatal to sick, frail patients.

"So we all need to be mindful of the need for best practice in personal hygiene."

Medical bosses at hospitals across the country are working to prevent the condition spreading and to reopen wards that were closed on Saturday.

Eighty-two beds were closed on two wards and bays at the 500-bed Northwick Park Hospital in Harrow after between at least 14 and 16 patients developed the illness.

Hospital spokesman Mark Purcell said one ward was scheduled to reopen on Sunday after being deep cleaned.

Doncaster and Bassetlaw Hospitals NHS Trust said wards were also closed to new patients at Montagu Hospital in South Yorkshire because of the seasonal sickness.

Two wards were also closed at Warwick Hospital because of patients suffering from diarrhea and vomiting but a spokeswoman said test results for norovirus were not back.

The Richard Wells Ward at Bedford Hospital was also closed on Saturday to stop the spread of the contagious viral gastroenteritis among patients, visitors and staff.

Visiting to the ward was restricted to one visitor per patient per day.

Director of nursing and patient services, Eiri Jones, warned visitors not to sit on hospital beds and not to visit at all if they had been ill in the preceding 72 hours.

Jones said: "I cannot stress the importance of this enough.

"Norovirus is extremely contagious and is easily passed through person-to-person contact, unwashed hands, touching surfaces and through virus particles carried in the air."

The first sign of Norovirus is usually a sudden sick feeling followed by forceful vomiting and watery diarrhea.

Other symptoms include a raised temperature, headaches, stomach cramps and aching limbs.

The Royal College of GPs say the virus has not been a major problem so far this year -- although outbreaks can occur very quickly, as the complaint is extremely infectious.