Hospital bans visitors

VISITORS are being banned from the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital in a bid to protect patients from a widespread seasonal stomach bug. The hospital currently has three wards closed to new admissions because of Norovirus and another five wards are affected.

VISITORS are being banned from the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital in a bid to protect patients from a widespread seasonal stomach bug.

The hospital currently has three wards closed to new admissions because of Norovirus and another five wards are affected.

Doctors are stressing that members of the public should stay away to prevent the infection from spreading further.

The Norovirus stomach bug (also know as gastroenteritis) causes nausea and/or diarrhoea and is very easily spread from person to person. The spread of infection is easiest in places where group of people are in close proximity for reasonable amounts of time such as residential homes, schools, hospitals and workplaces.

Children are at especially high risk of Norovirus-type bug and many schools across the county have been affected by the virus over the past few weeks.

The virus lasts around two days and no treatment is required. However, even after the symptoms have cleared up people may still carry the virus and infect others up to three days after their own symptoms have stopped.

Dr Judith Richards, consultant medical microbiologist at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, said: "We are closing the hospital to all visitors in order to protect our patients from this bug which is circulating in the local community."

For more information about Norovirus, visit www.nnuh.nhs.uk/dept/norovirus