A Norwalk virus outbreak at Whitehorse General Hospital is forcing the continuation of restrictions on visitation.

Hospital spokeswoman Val Pike said this morning there is no cancellation of any services. But the hospital is asking that only healthy adults who are members of the immediate family visit inpatients, she said.

'So if your wife just has a baby, you are welcome to visit, absolutely,' said Pike. 'Should you bring the children? No. If you have diarrhea, and don't feel good, don't come.'

All regular outpatient services emergency, laboratory and x-ray, and others remain open, though outpatients are encouraged to properly wash their hands before entering and leaving the hospital.

Hospital staff became suspicious about the possibility of an outbreak early last week when some patients started displaying symptoms and staff starting calling in sick with the symptoms, she said.

Pike said the hospital imposed partial visitation restrictions to the maternity and pediatric wards last Thursday, and expanded the restrictions to all inpatient wards Friday afternoon when test results confirmed the presence of the Norwalk virus.

As of Friday, there were 24 confirmed cases staff and patients infected with the virus, she said.

Inpatients who are infected, and are still in hospital, have been isolated.

Pike said part of the problem is the three-day incubation period that masks the presence of the virus before it hits with full force, causing vomiting and diarrhea lasting anywhere for 24 to 48 hours, sometimes longer.

Proper and frequent hand washing, she said, is the number one line of defence against the virus.

'At every opportunity, keep your hands as clean as possible,' she said. 'Wash them in warm soapy water for 30 seconds; that is going to do the trick.'

She said hand cream disinfectants are not effective substitutes for proper hand washing.

Dr. Bryce Larke, the Yukon's medical health officer, said today his office recommends that those who've had the illness not return to work for 48 hours after the symptoms disappear.

He said those who've been ill generally remain infectious for about 48 hours after the symptoms clear up.

Waiting the 48 hours before going back to work is particularly import for those in the health care and food handling professions, he noted.

Larke said the timing of the outbreak is not a surprise, as the illness used to be referred to as the winter vomiting disease.

'So it is no surprise in that sense,' he said. 'But it is always a concern when it affects an acute care facility like Whitehorse General or a long-term care facility.'

Larke said he's not received any indication from other public institutions like Macauley Lodge, Copper Ridge Place or the Whitehorse Correctional Centre about problems there.

And there's been no indication from the Department of Education about any abnormal increase in absenteeism, he said.

Larke pointed out staff at Macaulay and Copper Ridge Place, because of the nature of their work, maintain a high standard of preventative maintenance and are generally able to quickly nip these kinds of problems in the bud.

Noroviruses, of which Norwalk is just one, are highly contagious and spread easily if people touch a contaminated area, then rub their eyes or put their hands in their mouths, he said.

He pointed out that cruise ships, which have been known to have norovirus outbreaks, have extensive cleaning programs where surfaces like handrails, telephone receivers and even poker chips are disinfected regularly.

So far, said Larke, it appears there hasn't been a large-scale infection like that which hit Nova Scotia's St. Francis Xavier University last month.

'We are monitoring the situation as carefully as we can but all you can do is be aware of what you are looking for and encourage people to wash their hands, which remains certainly for noroviruses the best way to keep it under control.'

Larke emphasized the symptoms of a norovirus should not be confused with the symptoms of an influenza virus.

The norovirus causes the vomiting and diarrhea, he said. Influenza, on the other hand, is more of a respiratory illness that causes fever, sore muscles, aches and pain, fatigue and generally has one feeling miserable, he said.

While there is no vaccine for a norovirus, he added, there is a vaccine for influenza, and it should be available in the Yukon shortly to begin the annual flu shots.

The availability of the vaccine was delayed a couple of weeks this fall because of production delays common to all vaccine producers earlier in the year, Larke said.