The hospital at the centre of Britain's deadliest superbug outbreak today admitted it has been forced to close a ward after an outbreak of a vomiting virus.
The outbreak of norovirus, also known as the winter vomiting virus, has affected 16 patients at Maidstone hospital in Kent, one of three hospitals run by Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS trust, where 90 people died in two outbreaks of the Clostridium difficile bug last year.
A damning report by the Healthcare Commission this month accused the trust of "significant failings in infection control" after it found its hospitals had filthy wards and elderly patients were left to lie in their own faeces.
A trust spokesman said it had improved infection control measures since the C difficile outbreak, in which 1,100 patients were infected, and denied the ward closure was evidence that it was still failing to meet proper hygiene standards.
"Ten of the 16 patients who contracted norovirus while on the same ward at Maidstone hospital have now recovered from their symptoms," he said.
"The other six patients' symptoms are subsiding. No new cases of norovirus have been seen on the ward since the outbreak started on Monday night.
"The affected ward will remain closed to new admissions until all patients have recovered from the illness. Additional cleaning measures are in place on the ward and it will be deep cleaned before being reopened to the public.
"Staff are monitoring four further patients for norovirus today as a precautionary measure."
Healthcare campaigners said they knew of another four trusts across the UK that had been hit by norovirus outbreaks in the past fortnight.
The group Health Emergency warned outbreaks would undermine efforts to tackle stretched hospital capacity at a time when the NHS is struggling to cope with the continuing pressures of MRSA and C difficile.
Hairmyres hospital in East Kilbride has closed 13 wards in the past two weeks; Pilgrim hospital in Boston, Lincolnshire, has closed one ward this week; and Royal Manchester Children's hospital and Bridport Community hospital, Dorset, have also been hit by norovirus outbreaks.
A spokeswoman for NHS Lanarkshire said 13 wards had to be closed at Hairmyres hospital two weeks ago after an outbreak of norovirus.
"The virus occurs in the community as well as in hospitals and in a number of cases people will have acquired the infection in the community before being admitted for other reasons to Hairmyres," she said.
She said only one ward remained closed and a "very small" number of staff and patients were still affected.
Geoff Martin, head of campaigns at Health Emergency, said: "Norovirus is only a killer in very extreme circumstances but it is a virulent bug that can knock out whole wards overnight, putting massive pressure on beds and piling up the risk of other cross infections.
"With the ongoing severe problems with MRSA and C difficile we need a surge in norovirus like we need a hole in the head. As the virus gets a foot hold, large chunks of the NHS bed capacity could be put out of action with severe consequences for the fight against the other killer bugs."
Norovirus is estimated to infect between 600,000 and a million people in the UK each year, according to the Health Protection Agency. Symptoms include a sudden onset of vomiting and diarrhoea, and some sufferers may also have a raised temperature, headache and aching limbs.
Most people make a full recovery within one to two days, but very young children and older people may become dehydrated and require hospitalisation.
