Norovirus closes over 1,000 Scottish hospital wards

Much about animal illness is pretty sad. This is worse, much worse: real people, Scots here, have died in squalor and it has been going on for years.

Much worse, England, Ireland, Canada and the USA have had similar problems. The death toll is enormous, the distress of the relatives refused admittance to see their often dying, relatives, unbearable.

Pigs get norovirus and even the ultra-clean Swedes have found it in the water supply.

Two years ago this was published,  but nothing was done at sea or ashore

http://www.cruiselawnews.com/2010/06/articles/norovirus/cruise-ship-norovirus-something-in-the-water/

Scotland's pigs are sick and that has been covered up by their government veterinarians for at least 11 years.

They have shipped sick pigs south to England with one of their national newspapers proclaiming proudly "Let the English eat them if they like."

Not nice and something that will shame most decent Scots.

The very corrupt vetocracy in Edinburgh has massive problems: more than enough to influence elections.

It is Scots that are sick in hospital now, as well as English Irish Welsh Canadians and Americans, and it was all preventable.

75 per cent of British oysters, from the estuaries, are contaminated with Norovirus, but they are still on sale.

It is about time the government started sacking their veterinarians and bringing them before the Courts.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-17798211


22 April 2012

Norovirus caused more than 1,000 Scottish ward closures

Winter vomiting bug has been the cause of more than 1,000 hospital ward closures since 2009, according to Scottish government figures.

The Liberal Democrats obtained the statistics to draw attention to the strain put on the NHS by norovirus.

The party's health spokeswoman Alison McInnes called for the bug to be given the same attention as MRSA and C.diff.

The Scottish government said the number of cases has been falling over the last three years.

Norovirus causes winter vomiting disease.

The virus lives in the gut and is passed from person to person by poor hygiene after going to the toilet. It can also be spread when someone is sick.

Patients with the bug are treated in wards closed to new admissions until the sickness passes.
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde recorded the most occasions when wards had to be closed, at 333 since 2009.

There were 231 in Lothian, 108 in Grampian, 91 in Ayrshire and Arran, 66 in Tayside, 64 in Fife and 56 in Highland.

Forth Valley recorded 45 closures, while there were 52 in Lanarkshire and 18 each in Borders and in Dumfries and Galloway.

There were no closures in Shetland and three closures in Orkney and in the Western Isles.

'Highly infectious'

Ms McInnes said: said: "The closure of wards is the right response to contain an outbreak of norovirus, but with non-urgent surgeries being cancelled because of closures the knock-on effects have a real impact
on patients and the efficient running of our health service.

"It is vital that we reduce the number of outbreaks of the infection, which can be life-threatening to the vulnerable groups like our growing elderly population."

She added: "The Scottish government should ensure that people understand the highly infectious nature of the norovirus and give it the same attention as MRSA or C.diff.

"Only then will we be able to reduce ward closures across Scotland."

A government spokeswoman said significant work had been done to reduce cases as part of its Ready for Winter campaign. She added: "However, norovirus is a highly contagious virus which can be challenging to control in even the cleanest of environments and closing wards to new admissions is one of the most effective ways of preventing spread further within a hospital."