An outbreak of a highly contagious virus that causes gastro-enteritis has forced the cancellation of elective surgery operations at hospitals in Mayo and Westmeath.
Admissions have been restrict- ed and the hospitals involved have appealed to the public not to visit patients, unless necessary, while the outbreak lasts.
The so-called SRSV, or Small Round-Structured Virus, has infected about 30 patients and staff at the Midland Regional Hospital in Mullingar, while the Mayo General in Castlebar has reported five cases. And Castlebar's Sacred Heart Hospital, which caters mainly for elderly people, has identified 26 patients and 10 staff with the virus.
A spokeswoman for the Eastern Regional Health Authority confirmed that the virus had been reported at a "long-stay care home" in recent weeks, but said there were no current cases.
The virus, which occurs most often during winter, typically causes sudden vomiting, with diarrhoea also occurring in most cases. It is short-lived, usually lasting from 24 to 48 hours, and "self-limiting", in that there is no specific treatment.
It also has no long-term effects on health, according to the ERHA spokeswoman, "although if a person is already very ill, it obviously doesn't do any good".
The main problem with SRSV is that it spreads easily. Infection can occur through coughing or physical contact, but the virus can also be air-borne, presenting a particular difficulty for hospitals and nursing homes.
The problem at the Mayo General is said to be under control. Two people who had the virus have been discharged and no staff have been infected.
But the acting matron, Ms Nuala Maughan, confirmed that all elective surgery had been cancelled for the rest of the week, which is likely to affect approximately 20 patients. The situation will be reviewed again on Friday.
The move is a precautionary one, in a bid to stop the infection coming into the hospital from outside, rather than from the inside.
"We would appreciate that visiting would be curtailed. We are not concerned about the virus within the hospital but we don't want any more of this coming in from the community, because it is out there," she said.
Services at the Sacred Heart Hospital were shut down on Monday after the Western Health Board announced that an outbreak of gastro-enteritis had affected staff and patients there. The hospital remains closed to visitors.
A spokeswoman for the Midlands Health Board said the virus was "very much in the community around here" at the moment, and asked the public not to visit the hospital in Mullingar unless strictly necessary. She added that admissions were being restricted and arrangements were in place for non-emergency cases to be referred elsewhere.
Dr Sheelah Ryan, CEO of the Western Health Board, explained that while most people simply had to wait for the symptoms to pass, these illnesses posed extreme difficulties for older people.
The public health and environmental health departments within the health board were closely monitoring the situation.