Rotavirus cluster confirmed at Siu Lam Hospital

Three female patients are at a female ward.

The hospital said the patients (aged 37 to 58) are in a female ward for the severely intellectually disabled. The patients presented with diarrhea or vomiting symptoms since November 9.

Appropriate viral tests were arranged for the patients and their test results were positive for rotavirus. The patients are being treated under isolation and are in stable condition.

Hospital officials say infection control measures have been increased and new admissions to the ward have been suspended and visitations restricted.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said rotavirus is most common in infants and young children. Adults and older children, however, can also become infected with the rotavirus. Once a person has been exposed to the rotavirus, it takes about two days for symptoms to appear.

This rotavirus is passed from a person’s body into the environment in the stool of infected persons. It spreads by the fecal-oral route.