Outbreaks of the winter vomiting bug in hospitals last year cost the health service more than €10 mil- lion, it was revealed yesterday.
The bug - the small round structure virus (SRSV) - which caused elective surgery to be postponed at several hospitals, infected about 7,500 people. Many of these were hospital staff who had to be replaced, adding to costs.
After outlining the figures yesterday, the Minister for Health, Mr Martin, published new guidelines for the management of outbreaks of the bug.
The guidelines, drawn up by the National Disease Surveillance Centre, emphasise the need for early identification of an outbreak and the need to take rapid action to prevent the bug spreading.
They also stress the need for scrupulous hand- washing and recommend that there should be a written hand-washing policy in all healthcare settings, with an emphasis on the need for staff to wash their hands, particularly after using the toilet, before preparing or eating food and before and after all patient and specimen contact.
Dr Paul McKeown, a specialist in public health with the NDSC, said 70 per cent of outbreaks in the Republic occurred in hospital and in healthcare settings.
Transmission was more likely in these settings due to a number of possible factors, including high occupancy rates and problems with staff and environmental hygiene.
"Although these outbreaks are not completely preventable, they are controllable," Dr McKeown said. He added there had only been about 1,000 cases reported so far this year. "This is fairly typical of what we know about the behaviour of this virus. It comes in waves."
The symptoms of the winter vomiting bug include diarrhoea, abdominal pain and mild fever, which would normally pass after 48 to 72 hours. In the elderly and patients with weak immune systems, the symptoms can be serious.