The winter vomiting bug is once again proving to be no respecter of seasons, causing the closure of yet another hospital ward to new patients.
NHS Tayside said Ward 1 at Ninewells Hospital was closed to new admissions following several cases of vomiting and diarrhoea which is thought to be caused by norovirus, more commonly known as the winter vomiting bug.
The bug has caused numerous ward closures over the winter months but is now extending into the spring. Last year the bug was active in the summer although the biggest concentration of outbreaks has been through the winter.
Last year NHS Tayside’s director of public health Dr Drew Walker warned that the bug was now affecting patients throughout the year and was “no longer occurring strictly in the winter as the colloquial name ‘winter vomiting virus’ might suggest.”
NHS Tayside asked people who may be feeling unwell or experiencing vomiting and diarrhoea not to visit their friends and family members who are in hospital, to help minimise the spread of the virus. Visitors are being urged to stay away until at least 48 hours after they are free of all symptoms.
