Nausea, vomiting and diarrhea - dozens of patients, nurses and doctors have come down sick from the Norovirus at the hospital Rechts der Isar in Munich.

None of the patients have contracted serious complications, announced the hospital spokeswoman Eva Schuster. Last Thursday, the first victims started to suffer from nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. On Tuesday, another 45 patients, 18 nurses and two doctors became ill. In the meantime, the number of cases decreased. On Wednesday there were only three patients and three employees still sick.

Speculation mounted that one employee had inadvertently introduced the highly infectious virus. Employees are expected to stay at home when they suspect a transferable disease such as Norovirus. However, the victim had probably underestimated her symptoms and failed to self-diagnose the infection.

Norovirus infections have been reported before in Munich. The virus is transmitted by person-to-person contact. Stricter hygiene measures have been applied in the hospital since the outbreak of the virus: hand washing, disinfection and isolation of the sick patients are the only ways to prevent further spread.