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Johnny Longprong

'Superbug' found at Sydney hospital

Louise Hall
January 7, 2009 - 3:32PM




A life-threatening superbug more difficult to treat than the notorious "golden staph" has been found on 13 patients at Sydney's Royal North Shore Hospital.
The superbug, vancomycin resistant enterococcus (VRE), is resistant to multiple types of antibiotics including vancomycin, commonly known as "the antibiotic of last resort."
A spokeswoman for Northern Sydney Central Coast Area Health Service said the 13 patients who had tested positive to VRE have been isolated and are being treated by nursing staff dedicated to caring for these patients only.
As yet, none of the patients - who are mostly post-surgery - have become ill from the bacteria and the spokeswoman said there was no risk to the health of staff, other patients or visitors.
Enterococci are generally harmless bacteria, which live in the intestines of most people. VRE is a bacterium that has become resistant to, and cannot be destroyed by, the powerful drug vancomycin.
Director of the Infectious Diseases Unit and Microbiology Department at the Canberra Hospital, Peter Collignon, said VRE infections were more difficult to treat than the more common superbug, methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) or "golden staph".
While VRE infections are rare, at most risk are patients in intensive care, with a long-term illness, who have been on many different types of antibiotics, had major surgery or are being treated for conditions such as cancer or severe kidney disease, had an organ transplant or been treated with vancomycin in the past.
Professor Collignon said about one in three patients who become infected would die.
"Studies show if you have a serious infection you're twice as likely to die than if you've got a germ which responds to standard antibiotics," he said.
NSCCAHS says the 13 patients at RNSH have not yet contracted any blood, wound or urine infections, but routine screening found the bacteria had been found on or in their body.
"At RNSH all patients at risk are tested regularly for signs of VRE. This vigilance enables the hospital to successfully identify, contain and control VRE in the hospital environment," she said.
As well as the normal infection control procedures, the ward rooms and bathrooms in which the infected patients were accommodated are undergoing additional cleaning, she said.
However the patients' treatment regime, including any chemotherapy will continue as normal.
Professor Collignon said a recently discovered class of antibiotics, linezolid, was the only effective treatment against VRE but it's feared the genes of VRE and MRSA would eventually combine to create a new superbug resistant to this drug as well.
Clinton Dunkley from VICNISS Hospital Acquired Infection Surveillance System said most people were not prescribed vancomycin, unless they had infection in hospital, so the question of why VRE was occurring increasingly was unknown.

He said widespread use of antibiotics in the animal industry was the primary cause a decade ago, but a similar antibiotic called avoparcin that used to be given to animals has been banned. Avoparcin is similar enough to vancomycin for some of the enterococci in the animal's intestine to become resistant to avoparcin as well as vancomycin.
The Australian Infection Control Association says between 6.3 and 8.7 per 100,000 patients in NSW become sick from MRSA each year, compared with 1.1 per 100,000 in Western Australia.




I have been watching the news about this. They are blaming the close living conditions and poor health care in Aboriginal communities as a major source of this bacteria spread. Not directly, but very indirectly.



Got me wondering about the close living conditions in SE Asia and I was wondering why it hasn't raised it's head there. Maybe it has, but I haven't heard. Maybe there is a doc out there who can tell us about it???



Quite frankly I was thinking that we are being fed more BS. Maybe the rampant use of antibiotics is the problem??

spiff

A superbug is something you fry and it in Thailand.

Johnny Longprong

Funnily enough, I find your comment quite amusing Spiff. Obviously you have been making a conscious effort to see the light side of things. Keep up the good work. I like it.

BugginOut

Sounds like they still are.