Two people among 16 stricken by the H1N1 flu at Bridgepoint Health are now in acute care in hospital.

It's the second hospital affected by an outbreak in as many days after Mount Sinai Hospital revealed Wednesday it was grappling with H1N1.

Bridgepoint Health announced yesterday that 11 patients and five staff have H1N1 symptoms. Two of those people were sent to acute care hospitals for closer monitoring and treatment.

The symptoms included coughing, sneezing, fever and muscle pain, officials said. Tests confirmed it was the H1N1 virus.

The hospital has closed the floor where the outbreak took place, the neuromuscular support unit, to visitors and new admissions. The outbreak comes a day after an H1N1 outbreak at Mount Sinai Hospital, which led to three people being treated for H1N1.

Bridgepoint deals with complex chronic disease and disability.

"Outbreaks are common at this time of year, especially in hospitals and other health- care settings where there is added risk because people are compromised and living in close quarters," stated Jane Merkley, Bridgepoint's vice-president of programs, services and professional affairs.

"It's critical that visitors and staff not come to the hospital if they have flu-like symptoms," she said.

"From the onset of the outbreak, we responded as though the virus was H1N1, which lab results now confirm," Bridgepoint president Marian Walsh said. Those with symptoms received antiviral medication.

A hospital-wide vaccination program is underway.

DON.PEAT@SUNMEDIA.CA