Leeuwarden’s main hospital has closed down its specialist neonatal and child medicine wards after the so-called hospital bug or MRSA virus was identified.

Three children have picked up the bug and are being treated in quarantine, news agency ANP said.

The hospital is now trying to trace the source of the infection and is taking extra hygiene measures.

MRSA is a super bug, resistant to some commonly used antibiotics, and is responsible for several difficult-to-treat infections in humans. Elderly people and babies with weakened immune systems are particularly vulnerable to the virus.