Canada: Major Superbug outbreaks shuts Peterborough hospital
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Pastor Dale Morgan
Nov 13, 2010, 10:44:58 PM11/13/10
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Plagues, Pestilences and Diseases
Canada: Major Superbug outbreaks shuts Peterborough hospital
Published On Sat Nov 13 2010
Kate Allen Staff Reporter
“Significant outbreaks” of two different superbugs have shuts down units of a Peterborough hospital to new patients.
Unit B3 of the Peterborough Regional Health Centre, the region’s largest hospital, is no longer admitting or transferring patients and visitors are restricted after a spike in cases of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) and C. difficile.
“What’s different in this case is two fairly significant outbreaks on one unit occurring at the same time — that’s unusual,” said Jonathan Bennett, a spokesperson for the hospital.
Eleven cases of MRSA were reported since Nov. 5 and seven cases of C. difficile since Oct 22. More than three in one unit is considered an outbreak.
One patient with C. difficile has died, but the infection was not the primary cause of death, Bennett said.
The same unit also has two incidences of another hospital-acquired infection, Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcus (VRE), which is not considered an outbreak but which staff are continuing to monitor.
“We are taking this infection-control situation very seriously,” Ken Tremblay, the hospital’s president and CEO, said in a statement. The hospital has consulted with infectious disease experts and housekeeping staff have been double-cleaning patient rooms since the beginning of the outbreaks.
B3 is a general unit for patients who were admitted through the emergency room.
“They’re very sick patients, and they’re susceptible — they have compromised immune systems,” Bennett said. Hospital acquired infections do not threaten healthy members of the general public, but can sicken and even kill hospital patients. Between 5 and 10 per cent of patients at Canadian hospitals and clinics will get an infection.
“Like all hospitals, we have an ongoing struggle with keeping (MRSA, VRE and C. difficile) in check,” Bennett said.
Ontario has fought to keep its superbug problem under control while worldwide rates are on the rise. In 2008, the province began requiring hospitals to report rates of infection for MRSA, C. difficile and VRE.
The Peterborough hospital’s infection rates for C. difficile are lower than the provincial average, and prior to the latest outbreaks, it had reported fewer than five cases of MRSA and none of VRE since April 2009. The hospital serves 300,000 people in four counties and has around 400 beds.
C. difficile is a common infection in hospitals and can lead to diarrhea, fever, nausea and abdominal pain. Untreated MRSA skin infections can cause life-threatening blood and bone infections. The symptoms of VRE are fever, infection, inflammation, and pneumonia.
Since no new cases have been reported in the unit in the last 10 days, the C. difficile outbreak could be declared over on Monday after additional testing.
Canada: Major Superbug outbreaks shuts Peterborough hospital
Published On Sat Nov 13 2010
Kate Allen Staff Reporter
“Significant outbreaks” of two different superbugs have shuts down units of a Peterborough hospital to new patients.
Unit B3 of the Peterborough Regional Health Centre, the region’s largest hospital, is no longer admitting or transferring patients and visitors are restricted after a spike in cases of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) and C. difficile.
“What’s different in this case is two fairly significant outbreaks on one unit occurring at the same time — that’s unusual,” said Jonathan Bennett, a spokesperson for the hospital.
Eleven cases of MRSA were reported since Nov. 5 and seven cases of C. difficile since Oct 22. More than three in one unit is considered an outbreak.
One patient with C. difficile has died, but the infection was not the primary cause of death, Bennett said.
The same unit also has two incidences of another hospital-acquired infection, Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcus (VRE), which is not considered an outbreak but which staff are continuing to monitor.
“We are taking this infection-control situation very seriously,” Ken Tremblay, the hospital’s president and CEO, said in a statement. The hospital has consulted with infectious disease experts and housekeeping staff have been double-cleaning patient rooms since the beginning of the outbreaks.
B3 is a general unit for patients who were admitted through the emergency room.
“They’re very sick patients, and they’re susceptible — they have compromised immune systems,” Bennett said. Hospital acquired infections do not threaten healthy members of the general public, but can sicken and even kill hospital patients. Between 5 and 10 per cent of patients at Canadian hospitals and clinics will get an infection.
“Like all hospitals, we have an ongoing struggle with keeping (MRSA, VRE and C. difficile) in check,” Bennett said.
Ontario has fought to keep its superbug problem under control while worldwide rates are on the rise. In 2008, the province began requiring hospitals to report rates of infection for MRSA, C. difficile and VRE.
The Peterborough hospital’s infection rates for C. difficile are lower than the provincial average, and prior to the latest outbreaks, it had reported fewer than five cases of MRSA and none of VRE since April 2009. The hospital serves 300,000 people in four counties and has around 400 beds.
C. difficile is a common infection in hospitals and can lead to diarrhea, fever, nausea and abdominal pain. Untreated MRSA skin infections can cause life-threatening blood and bone infections. The symptoms of VRE are fever, infection, inflammation, and pneumonia.
Since no new cases have been reported in the unit in the last 10 days, the C. difficile outbreak could be declared over on Monday after additional testing.
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