Suspected and laboratory-confirmed reported norovirus outbreaks in hospitals: outbreaks occurring in weeks 27 to 31, 2014
Updated 9 January 2015
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The hospital norovirus outbreak reporting scheme (HNORS) recorded 14 outbreaks occurring between weeks 27 and 31, 2014, all of which led to ward/bay closures or restriction to admissions. Seven (50%) outbreaks were recorded as laboratory confirmed due to norovirus. From week 1 (January 2014) to week 31 (week beginning 28 July 2014) 400 outbreaks have been reported. Ninety-three per cent (373) of reported outbreaks resulted in ward/bay closures or restrictions to admissions and 65% (259) were laboratory confirmed as due to norovirus.
Suspected and laboratory-confirmed reported norovirus outbreaks in hospitals, with regional breakdown: outbreaks occurring in weeks 27 to 31 of 2014
| Region/PHE Centre | Outbreaks between weeks 27-31/2014 | Total outbreaks weeks 1-31/2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outbreaks | Ward/bay closure* | Lab-confirmed | Outbreaks | Ward/bay closure* | Lab-confirmed | |
| Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire | – | – | – | 45 | 45 | 27 |
| Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Northamptonshire | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Cheshire and Merseyside | – | – | – | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Cumbria and Lancashire | 4 | 4 | 2 | 16 | 16 | 9 |
| Devon, Cornwall and Somerset | 2 | 2 | – | 41 | 40 | 20 |
| Greater Manchester | – | – | – | 15 | 14 | 4 |
| Hampshire, Isle of Wight and Dorset | – | – | – | 22 | 22 | 13 |
| Lincolnshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire | – | – | – | 36 | 35 | 27 |
| London | 1 | 1 | – | 7 | 7 | 5 |
| Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Essex | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| North east | 3 | 3 | 2 | 41 | 35 | 28 |
| Sussex, Surrey and Kent | 2 | 2 | 2 | 20 | 20 | 15 |
| Thames Valley | – | – | – | 12 | 12 | 4 |
| West Midlands | – | – | – | 50 | 49 | 26 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 2 | 2 | 1 | 94 | 77 | 80 |
| Total | 14 | 14 | 7 | 400 | 373 | 259 |
* Note: not all outbreaks result in whole wards closures, some closures are restricted to bays only.
Figure 1. Current weekly norovirus laboratory reports compared to weekly average 2006 to 2010
In the current season to date † (from week 27, 2014, to week 30, 2015), there were 195 laboratory reports of norovirus. This is 14% higher than the average number of laboratory reports for the same period in the seasons between 2007 to 2008 and 2011 to 2012 (171)*. The number of laboratory reports in the most recent weeks will increase as further reports are received.
† The norovirus season runs from July to June (week 27 in year 1 to week 26 in year 2) in order to capture the winter peak in one season.
* The 2012 to 2013 season began earlier than normal so comparisons between the current and earlier years would not be valid.
Figure 2. Norovirus laboratory reports in the current season, compared with previous years (to week 31)