Two hospitals in as many days in the West Country have been forced to close some of their wards after an outbreak of a sickness and diarrhoea bug.

So far there are just two confirmed cases of the Norwalk virus among patients at Yeovil District Hospital in Somerset, but managers are awaiting the results of tests on several more suspected cases.

The airborne virus causes sickness and diarrhoea for between 24 and 48 hours but is not life threatening.

Nicky Pearson, the director of public health at Dorset and Somerset Health Authority, said the first signs of the outbreak emerged earlier this week, with the first case confirmed on Thursday.

It spreads like wildfire and there is not a great deal you can do about it.

Nicky Pearson

She said the hospital had cancelled all elective, or planned, operations until the outbreak was under control, but was still open for emergency admissions and was still carrying out emergency surgery.

"The Norwalk virus is very common and highly infectious," she said.

"It spreads like wildfire and there is not a great deal you can do about it."

Ms Pearson said the hospital had also closed five wards to new patients and implemented infection control procedures in a bid to control the outbreak.

Surgery postponed

The latest outbreak comes as about 40 patients and staff were hit by a bug which shut down five hospital wards and an emergency medical unit for a second day at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital.

The hospital in Exeter has been closed to new admissions because of the bug, which has yet to be identified as samples are still being tested.

Routine surgery has also been postponed at the hospital and the emergency medical unit will stay closed to new admissions until sufferers have been found to be free of symptoms for 48 hours.

A similar bug closed four wards at the Derriford Hospital in Plymouth, Devon, last week but a spokesman said that one of the wards is due to reopen on Saturday.

Another of the wards is being cleaned on Friday and a third would be reviewed over the weekend.