The winter vomiting bug has returned to two hospitals in the west, some six months after its initial detection in the region.
The Western Health Board said there are four suspect cases of the Small Round Structured Virus in Mayo General Hospital, in Castlebar, and also several suspected cases at two units of Merlin Park Hospital in Galway.
The bug has not spread to the main part of Merlin Park Hospital, and infection control procedures have been put in place, a spokeswoman for the health board said yesterday.
Infected patients have been isolated in one ward at both institutions, and the public has been asked to make only essential visits. Any visits should be made by individuals, rather than groups, the health board added. "This is a community-based virus, brought in by the community, and is not regarded as serious, but it is something that patients in hospitals can do without," the board said.
The SRSV bug has been present throughout the State for most of the year, and has caused major disruption recently in Dublin hospitals.
Elective admissions and surgical procedures have had to be cancelled, while movements between wards have been limited, barrier nursing has been applied, and routine disinfection procedures have been extended.
The earlier outbreak in February-March in the west was a significant contributor to the €16 million debt sustained by the health board.
Patients in hospitals where visits have been restricted have tended to make a quicker recovery.
This trend has also been noticed in maternity wards also, where women have made a speedier recovery after birth. The Sacred Heart Hospital in Carlow has been declared free of the virus and has now re-opened for admissions and visitors. However, two Waterford hospitals struck by the bug continue to be affected with more cases reported.
Waterford Regional Hospital has a further 14 staff and two patients suspected of contracting the virus.
Twenty-two members of staff remain off-duty. The hospital has closed to visitors and security staff are at the entrances.
All outpatient clinic appointments, including fracture clinic appointments, are proceeding as normal but these arrangements are being reviewed daily.
St Patrick's Hospital, which predominantly cares for the elderly, is again closed to admissions and visitors, with one patient showing symptoms of the virus.
The South Eastern Health Board is appealing to the public not to visit the Waterford hospitals, apart from exceptional medical circumstances.
