Operations have been cancelled at the Royal Berkshire Hospital, following an outbreak of a bug causing severe stomach upsets and vomiting.

Eighty staff members and 65 patients have been taken ill with the highly contagious Norwalk virus.

All non-urgent surgery at the Reading hospital has now been postponed.

In total 17 wards have been affected by the virus.

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

Minimise infection

Cases of the Norwalk virus were first detected in Reading a week ago and the numbers have risen steadily.

With so many staff members taken ill at the hospital, rotas have had to be re-organised and the accident and emergency department has been left short-staffed.

Patients affected by the virus have been segregated into side rooms, to try to minimise the spread of the virus to other wards.

Royal Berkshire Hospital spokeswoman Laura O'Connor said: "We want to get across to the public not to panic.

"The outpatient unit is still open, where it is business as usual.

The virus causes diarrhoea and vomiting

"We would ask anyone who has experienced sickness in the last 24 hours not to visit the hospital, where they could spread the virus to patients whose immune systems are already down.

"If anyone has any concerns then we suggest they contact NHS Direct or their GP."

Several hospitals across the south have been hit by the illness already this year - in September hospitals in Hampshire and Dorset suffered major outbreaks.

The illness is similar to the so-called 'winter vomiting bug' that swept the UK last year.