Superbugs a growing threat in Canada: report
Pastor Dale Morgan
Superbugs a growing threat in Canada: report*
Updated Wed. Sep. 13 2006 1:28 PM ET
CTV.ca News Staff
Superbugs are a growing threat in Canadian hospitals, and better
medication and infection controls are needed, a new study suggests.
The number of one powerful bacteria strain's resistance to antibiotics
has jumped dramatically: from 5-to-15 per cent to 20-to-50 per cent.
That's a significant increase from previous estimates, according to the
report by the Canadian National Intensive Care Unit.
Researchers examined 4,180 specimens from patients in 19 intensive care
units across Canada.
The resistance figures pertain to the most common virulent strain of
bacteria, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), which is a
major cause of hospital-acquired wound and skin infections.
Scientists also found an increase in the resistance of
vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) and E. coli, with levels at 6.8
per cent and 4.7 per cent, respectively.
"The stark reality in this country today is the MRSA and other
drug-resistant bacteria are posing a serious threat to our ICUs,"
primary investigator Dr. George Zhanel, a professor at the University of
Manitoba, said in a news release.
"People infected with these superbugs are more likely to have longer
hospital stays and require multiple drug treatments to fight them off.
And even then, it's often too little, too late."
About 8,500 Canadians die each year from complications arising from
infections acquired in hospitals, according to the Community and
Hospital Infection Control Association.
Zhanel says stronger infection control measures are needed to limit the
impact of the superbugs. Strict compliance from patients for less
complicated infections is also vital, he said.
Another disturbing trend found by researchers is the increase of MRSA
acquired in the community, not in the hospital setting.
The strains were found among athletes, soldiers and intravenous drug
users, the study showed.
At least seven cases of the community-acquired strains, usually found in
drug users and First Nations communities, are currently being treated
across the country, the report said.
"In Canada, sporadic cases (of the strains) have started to appear over
the last decade," said Dr. Tony Mazzulli, a University of Toronto
professor and medical microbiologist and infectious diseases specialist.
"They tend to involve different strains and different antibiotic
resistance profiles than hospital-acquired infections."