A total ban on visitors has been reintroduced at Cork University Hospital (CUH) and at St Oliver's and St Clare's wards in St Finbarr's Hospital in the city due to the winter vomiting virus.
The only exceptions are for relatives of critically-ill patients, who are asked to make contact with the hospital in advance of their visit.
The radiotherapy and chemotherapy day units and the out-patients' department at CUH remain open. Other wards at St Finbarr's Hospital, including the maternity unit, have not been affected.
"The winter vomiting virus remains prevalent in the community. Any person with vomiting and/or diarrhoea or anyone who has had contact with persons with those symptoms should not visit any hospital until they have been symptom-free for 72 hours [ three days].This virus is extremely infectious and visitors may unknowingly pass on the bug to sick relatives or friends when visiting", said Mary Boyd, director of nursing at CUH.
The winter vomiting virus, otherwise known as Small Rounded Structured Viruses (SRSV), usually causes short outbreaks of abdominal pain and nausea followed by diarrhoea and/or vomiting. It is usually mild and rarely causes severe problems. However, it can be debilitating in small children or older people who are already ill.