By Gillian Ellison

Published at 11:10, Thursday, 19 April 2012

PART of one ward at West Cumberland Hospital is closed as a result of a sickness bug.

A 14-bed bay is closed on Jenkin Ward with suspected cases of norovirus.

Elsewhere the hospital is said to be fully operational and the staff have been praised for their work over the past few weeks in dealing with the winter vomiting bug.

The hospital is still stressing that any visitors who are experiencing symptoms or have not been clear of symptoms of the norovirus bug for 48 hours should not visit.

It is the most common cause of vomiting and diarrhoea and is a nasty infection for anyone who gets it but can be particularly dangerous for people with other medical conditions.

Known as the winter vomiting bug, it affects between 600,000 and one million people in the UK every year. It is normally a short-lived infection from which people will usually recover within 12 to 60 hours.

The condition is highly contagious unless great care is taken to contain it.

Published by http://www.whitehavennews.co.uk