29 reported outbreaks of winter vomiting bug

THERE have been 29 outbreaks of the winter vomiting bug reported to the country’s public health watchdog since October.

The Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) has also confirmed that outbreaks have increased since Christmas.

Hospitals in Sligo, Wexford, Limerick, Clare, Tipperary, Galway, Roscommon and Cork have been affected by the highly infectious virus.

An elderly patients’ ward in St Finbarr’s Hospital in Cork has been isolated. Six patients in the rehabilitation ward are believed to have contracted the virus.

A total of 46 cases of the virus were confirmed over the past four weeks at St John’s Hospital in Sligo. Four patients currently have the disease.

Wexford General Hospital, which has 10 patients with symptoms of the disease, has cancelled all non-urgent admissions and out-patients’ clinics, with the exception of cancer and maternity clinics. It is also closed to all visitors unless in exceptional circumstances.

There are three suspected cases in Roscommon County Hospital and “a couple” in Galway University Hospital. Two cases have been confirmed at Ennis General Hospital, with two suspected cases at St Joseph’s Community Hospital for the elderly in Ennis. Five patients at Nenagh Hospital have contracted the virus and there are three confirmed and nine suspected cases at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Limerick.