NHS issues ‘worrying’ norovirus warning as hospital cases in England soar to record highs

Hospitals in England are facing their highest number of norovirus cases this winter as the outbreak intensifies.

New NHS data reveals a “worrying surge” in cases, with the number of beds occupied by people with the diarrhoea and vomiting bug up 15 per cent last week.

NHS England says 898 beds were filled with people displaying norovirus-like symptoms, compared with 784 the previous week. The previous winter peak reached 837 beds in early December.

Levels of norovirus, also called the "winter vomiting bug", are higher than at this point 12 months ago, when an average of 688 beds were filled with patients with symptoms, and also two years ago (395 patients).

“The virus is spread person to person, through the air or on surfaces such as door handles or in foods, especially raw shellfish and leafy green salads,” explains Prof Paul Hunter, Professor in Medicine at the University of East Anglia. “It is a very infectious virus and you can get infected by consuming only a very small number of infectious particles.”

Anyone can contract norovirus at any time of the year, but cases rise in winter because people are spending more time indoors. This is the same for cases of all common seasonal respiratory viruses, such as flu, which peak in winter.

Meanwhile, flu levels in hospitals in England have fallen for the third week in a row, but health bosses warn the NHS remains under intense pressure from winter viruses.

Professor Julian Redhead, national clinical director for urgent and emergency care at NHS England, said: “It is welcome news that the number of patients in hospital with Covid and flu continued to fall last week, however the worrying surge in norovirus cases – now at their highest level so far this winter – means there is