Nursing home flu outbreak over

An outbreak of influenza that infected over 40 residents at a nursing home in Roscommon and killed two has been declared over.

The residents, at Drumderrig Nursing Home in Boyle, had contracted the A H3 strain of the flu virus, the same strain that was responsible for the deaths of seven residents at Nazareth House nursing home near Buncrana, Co Donegal, earlier this year.

Drumderrig, which has 76 residents, had temporarily stopped accepting new admissions and visitor restrictions were put in place when the outbreak began last month.

A public health team from the HSE also attended the home to ensure residents were correctly managed to reduce infection and prevent the spread of the disease.

In a statement today, the HSE said the outbreak at the private nursing home ended yesterday.

“There are no residents unwell with influenza,” the statement said.