Cumbria has been put on red alert over the increasing number of outbreaks of norovirus.

The winter vomiting bug has forced staff at the Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle to close its Beech wards, with at least 15 people showing symptoms.

North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust, which also runs the West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven, is considering stopping visitors at Carlisle all together.

Cumbria County Council has taken the decision to issue a red trigger level.

They are asking for people to help reduce the number of cases in hospitals.

Colin Cox, director of public health at Cumbria County Council, said: "It is important to try to stop it spreading."

The virus was first detected on Wednesday when both staff and patients in Carlisle started showing symptoms of the virus, known as the winter sickness bug.

It was brought into the hospital by an unwell visitor, who vomited in the surgical ward area on Tuesday.

The virus is very infectious and can spread rapidly in environments like hospitals.

Its impact can be serious, particularly on very unwell or elderly patients.

Anna Stabler, deputy director of nursing, midwifery and allied health professionals, said: “The message we need to get out is if members of the public are unwell or are feeling unwell, we ask them not to visit.

“If members of the public [who are unwell] have an appointment in our outpatient's department or x-ray department, we'd ask them to ring and rearrange their appointment so we're not bringing anything into the hospital.”

A number of patients and staff have been affected by norovirus.

Staff showing any symptoms have been told not to return to work until they have been free of all signs for 48 hours.

Beech wards, where the outbreak happened, will not be reopened until they have been free from the virus for 48 hours.

Mrs Stabler said it was really important that visitors washed their hands with foam and water in the basins in the ward cubicles because the hospital hand gel does not prevent the spread of norovirus.

She said: “It's the hand washing that's really, really important.

"There's hand basins in all the bays and cubicles in our wards. They should be washing their hands.

“They shouldn't be sitting on beds, they should be sitting in the chairs provided.

"There should be no more than two visitors per patient and people should avoid bringing children.”

At the moment the outbreak is confined to staff and patients on the surgical ward.

The trust is considering placing restrictions on visitors if the virus spreads any further.

Mrs Stabler said: “We're doing everything we can to provide that support but we really need the public to do their bit as well.”

Norovirus affects between 600,000 and one million people in the UK every year.

It is normally a short-lived infection, with people usually recovering within 12 to 60 hours.