More people struck by mystery bug

More than half the patients hit by a mystery vomiting bug at the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital have recovered, a health service spokeswoman said last night.

But the spokeswoman added that a further patient and another staff member had since been become ill — adding to the original toll of twelve patients, four staff and one visitor.

The outbreak, which caused vomiting and diarrhea at the hospital’s Gordon Ward, has been diagnosed as gastroenteritis – but its cause is still being probed by medics

The spokeswoman for Bermuda Hospitals Board (BHB) said: “Gordon Ward remains closed to admissions, and isolation procedures are in place for all patients who are still unwell.

“This includes protective wear for all staff and visitors going into isolation rooms, enhanced cleaning and a request for visitors to postpone their visits unless it is urgent.”

She added: “It takes time to analyze samples in order to identify and confirm the illness and at this time it is premature for speculation.

“The clinical diagnosis is gastroenteritis, which can be caused by many organisms.

“A full investigation is ongoing to identify the exact cause, but individuals are recovering with the timely treatment of symptoms.

“It is not unusual for hospitals around the world to experience outbreaks of this nature.

“It is always important to respond swiftly to implement best practice infection control protocols to minimize the spread of any illness. BHB is continuing to monitor the situation closely and will update the community as the facts are known.”

Patients and staff started becoming ill at the weekend and staff and visitors were ordered to wear protective equipment when dealing with patients in the ward, which is the only one at the hospital which has been affected.

It seems possible the bug is a strain of the norovirus.

According to the UK’s Daily Mirror last month, cases of norovirus — known as the winter vomiting bug — had hit an all-time high.

The cases reported were up by 72 per cent on last year – with as many as 590 hospital outbreaks reported, 29 of them taking place over Christmas.

A total of 3,877 cases of the virus have been confirmed, a significant rise on last winter’s 2,255, although experts suggest there could be as many as 1.12 million cases going unreported.

It is also thought that a new strain called Sydney 2012, to which few are resistant, could be the reason for the sharp rise in cases this winter.

The strain of the bug — named after the Australian city where it was first identified — had spread by late last year to both the UK and US.