Malvern's Cabrini Hospital. Credit:Eddie Morton Seven patients and a number of staff became sick and a ward was closed, Cabrini Malvern executive director Dr Simon Woods said. "Patients from this ward were not transferred to other facilities to ensure the problem was contained," he said. "A small number of staff members were also affected, which highlights the risks staff run when dealing with patients with contagious diseases." And the Mary MacKillop Aged Care facility in Hawthorn East is in lockdown due to an outbreak.

A family member of a resident said when she went to the facility last Thursday, she was told the 91–bed home was closed to visitors. The woman, who did not want to be named, said at first she did not notice a sign near the front door warning of the outbreak. "A nurse stood in front of me and said unless this is an urgent visit you need to leave as there is an outbreak," she said. "I asked if they would take a message to [my relative] and they said 'yes, but we are taking all the messages in one go so they don't have to visit that area that often'. "The thing I found absolutely outrageous is that they had not notified her relatives or friends."

The Sisters of St Joseph Health Care Services refused to comment, saying they had nothing to inform the media. However a Facebook post published on Wednesday said a recent admission from a hospital brought a virus into the facility "at which point we went into lockdown to protect residents". "Every resident representative was contacted by phone last week to advise of the lockdown," said the statement.

"We have closed the doors again today whilst two residents are unwell." Meanwhile, an outbreak at the Regis Armadale aged care facility, which is 500 metres from Cabrini Malvern, was brought under control on Wednesday.

"Gastro is not uncommon in the aged care industry, especially at this time of year and we have specific processes and procedures which are implemented in any facility as soon as it occurs," said Regis Healthcare's general manager of corporate services Kirsty Nottle. Symptoms of gastroenteritis include diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pains, sometimes accompanied by fever and headaches. Hospitals and aged care homes affected by gastroenteritis should notify the health department within 24 hours, and should avoid transferring patients and admitting new ones, according to Victorian government guidelines. Department of Health spokesman Bram Alexander said gastroenteritis outbreaks were more common during winter. "It's a timely reminder for people to pay attention to their own person hygiene and good hand hygiene so there's no spread of bacteria," he said.

"In an aged care and hospital setting, if you don't have to go to visit someone in hospital, if it not absolutely necessary, don't go. "If we've got viral gastro in the community, it's going to turn up in aged care settings, hospital settings and childcare settings." Mr Alexander said strict department guidelines meant infected patients were kept in one ward and staff managing those patients were restricted from working in other parts of the hospital.