A hospital in Northern Ireland was forced to close down its elderly care ward after it was found to be infected with a vomiting and diarrhoea bug while another hospital said that its ward has also been infected.

The elderly ward at the Altnagelvin Hospital in Londonderry has been closed to new admissions as infection controls are being put in place. The ward was closed while a few patients as well as staff at the Belfast's Royal Victoria Hospital were also infected by the bug.

The hospitals in the area are already finding it hard to provide care to all and the closure of the ward would add to the pressure. The Western Health and Social Care Trust ordered the closure of the ward and have issued a statement appealing for co-operation from the public.

The Infection Prevention and Control team of the trust continued to monitor the situation in the hospitals over the weekend. The staff pointed out that additional infection control measures have been taken at the units.

“Diarrhoea and vomiting is easily spread in closed environments and the decision was taken to close one ward to admissions as part of infection control measures. The public has an important role to play by not visiting the hospital if they are feeling unwell, particularly if they have diarrhoea and/or vomiting,” said Elaine Way, Western Trust Chief Executive.