Gastro bug hits Hobart kids' hospital ward

The children's ward at the Royal Hobart Hospital has been quarantined to manage an outbreak of a gastro bug that's affected patients and staff.

The highly infectious novovirus, which causes vomiting and diarrhoea, was reported on Wednesday by the hospital's clinical operations director Wendy Rowell, but the number of sufferers has not been revealed.

"(We are) working to manage the spread of the virus. This includes restricting access to the ward, increased hygiene protocols for people who do enter the ward and isolating patients where appropriate," she said.