David Stuart: "Five patients were infected"

Dr David Stuart, assistant medical director of South Glasgow University NHS Hospitals Trust, said he was confident the salmonella infection had been brought under control.

Health Minister Malcolm Chisholm has demanded a report into the outbreak.

Hugh Pennington, professor of bacteriology at Aberdeen University, said he believed the deaths could have been avoided.

'Remain vigilant'

Details of the other two men who died have not been revealed by the hospital.

The outbreak was first suspected on 2 January and was confirmed by tests six days later.

Transfers to and from ward seven were suspended as a precautionary measure, but reopened at the weekend.

Dr Stewart said: "In total five patients were infected with salmonella, including the patient who originally brought the infection into the hospital.

"Of the four who contracted salmonella in the hospital three died, while the remaining case has recovered.

"The original patient has been discharged.

The hospital told us he had contracted salmonella poisoning but they couldn't tell us where he had caught it from

Rudi Ionta

"The outbreak control team is confident that the salmonella infection was brought into the Victoria Infirmary by a patient.

"As soon as the problem was identified infection control measures were reinforced. We believe that the salmonella outbreak is over but remain vigilant."

Investigations have not indicated that any other hospital wards have been affected by the outbreak.

A hospital spokesman said staff had not been tested, but that this would be kept under review.

"We are deeply upset that this has happened and our thoughts are with the families at this time," added a hospital spokeswoman.

Assurances given

Mr Chisholm said: "I have been reassured that all the necessary steps have now been taken to contain the spread of this infection.

"But there are aspects of the way in which it has been handled that I am concerned about and that is why I have asked for an urgent report from the trust, which I want to receive by the beginning of next week."

Mr Ionta's son, Rudi, a student from Glasgow, said: "I do think it is down to government under-funding that someone can contract salmonella in hospital when they are being treated for something else.

"We were assured that after three or four days he would be released home.

Malcolm Chisholm: "Deeply upset"

"But the last two weeks before he died he just started to get really poorly. The hospital told us he had contracted salmonella poisoning but they couldn't tell us where he had caught it from.

"It got worse and he eventually died."

Prof Pennington said it was an issue which had to be tackled immediately.

"We are paying a lot more attention to this now than we had been in the past," he said.

"It is not a new problem, but it is something that we have to crack.

"Because it is totally unacceptable that someone goes into hospital perhaps to have a minor operation or to have some kind of disease attended to, and catch something else there with a fatal outcome."

Operations cancelled

Margaret Hinds, of the Health Service Forum, said the outbreak had to be resolved as quickly as possible.

"People in the hospital, who have had operations will be worrying about it," she said.

"People who are waiting to go in and are obviously concerned about. It must be resolved as quickly as possible."

Meanwhile, three other wards and an elderly medicine unit at the hospital have been closed because of a viral infection causing vomiting and diarrhoea.

A number of patients have had their operations cancelled, but it was being stressed that it was not unusual for an airborne bug to hit hospitals at this time of year.

A spokesman said an outbreak control team was in place and reviewing the situation daily.

However, the hospital stressed that there was no link between the two infections.