OSLO, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- A hospital in southern Norway has been partly closed after a breakout of the highly contagious norovirus, the Norwegian news agency NTB reported on Sunday.

　　The pulmonary department at the Ostfold Hospital in Fredrikstad was closed after 16 medical workers and 10 patients had been infected by the virus, which causes acute gastroenteritis.

　　The infection of norovirus is often called stomach flu or viral gastroenteritis and the symptoms are nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.

　　This current outbreak of norovirus is worse than the one last year, according to the report.