Salmonella scare halts admissions

All admissions to a hospital hit by a salmonella outbreak were stopped yesterday after two patients died and 17 other people fell ill. Staff and patients at the 55-bed Victoria Hospital in Deal, Kent, have both been affected in the last six weeks. Experts said that the two people who died were frail and had life-threatening conditions before the salmonella infection.

The hospital has stopped all admissions for four weeks while doctors try to trace the source of the outbreak and tests are being carried out at the hospital and on former patients to try to track down the source of the outbreak. Dr Mathi Chandrakumar, East Kent Health Authority's consultant in communicable disease control, said: "All necessary steps are being taken to control the outbreak and hospital staff are being especially vigilant in their care of the patients."