Two more hospitals have been hit by the winter vomiting virus which has already prompted the closure of wards at hospitals in Bedford and Kettering.

About 50 patients and staff at Milton Keynes Hospital have been taken ill with the infection, and two medical wards at Hinchingbrooke Hospital in Cambridgeshire have been closed to new admissions.

In Bedford five wards are now closed to new admissions, while in Kettering, 98 members of staff and 45 patients have been taken ill.

Health officials at the hospitals say the situation is under control, but vulnerable people are advised to stay away except in an emergency.

Full recovery

The outbreak at Bedford Hospital began at the weekend, and initially forced the closure of the children's unit to new admissions.

That has now reopened.

In Kettering, a vomiting bug has forced three wards to close, with two more under review.

Children, pregnant women and the elderly are all particularly at risk from the virus, which causes projectile vomiting, diarrhoea and dizziness.

However, symptoms clear up within a few days and even frail patients usually make a full recovery.

Dr Pat Nair, a consultant in communicable diseases at Bedford Hospital, said: "If it's somebody with a milder illness who does not have to go into the hospital, who can be managed at home, then that is the right thing to do.

"You don't want to go into hospital and pick up another infection that you don't have."