A SCHOOL has been hit by a suspected outbreak of the Norovirus.

Parents at Canford Health Middle School in Poole yesterday received emergency letters saying they could keep their children at home.

It was not clear how many children are infected, but one parent estimated more than 50 had become ill.

The Norovirus, also known as the “winter vomiting bug”, is caused by the spread of infected vomit and faecal matter.

No-one from the school, on Learoyd Road in Canford Heath, was last night available by telephone.

The parent said: “I was called in to collect her because she was ill. There were quite a few others children waiting outside.

“People like me have now got to take two days off work.”

He said cleaners had been called in to scrub down the school.

The parent said in one daughter’s class there were only 20 pupils instead of 30 – and in the other, only five.

Another parent posted on Facebook: “Fifty plus kids and eight staff – that’s just today!”

The school has 414 pupils aged eight to 12, according to Ofsted.

Parents received a warning by text then got the letter from associate headteacher Kate Carter.

It said “a number of children” had developed a vomiting illness, suspected to be Norovirus, and that the Dorset and Somerset Health Protection Unit had been informed.

She said infected children should not attend school until 48 hours after their symptoms cleared up.

The illness causes “highly unpleasant” symptoms for two to three days but does not usually require medical treatment, said the letter, unless symptoms persist or blood is found in vomit or faeces.

Chris Ricketts, from the Dorset and Somerset Health Protection Unit, last night said he did not have information to hand on the number infected.

He said it was “quite usual” to have Norovirus circulating at this time of year and said standard control measures include cleaning the school environment and excluding infected children.