Antibiotic-resistant infections challenge Beaufort Memorial Hospital

Link: The Beaufort Gazette: Antibiotic-resistant infections challenge Beaufort Memorial Hospital.

"It seems to mostly be healthy, young people (who come in already infected). It's really throughout the county," said Bev Yoder, the hospital's infection control nurse. "We saw an increase about three to four months ago where it really seemed to be more than we expected to see." In 2007, there were about two or three cases per month. This year, it's up to three or four per month, primarily methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA; vanocomycin-resistant Enterococci, or VRE; and Clostridium difficile. MRSA may show up as a boil that looks similar to a spider bite while the other infections often manifest as severe, debilitating diarrhea. The increase of incoming patients with bacterial infections might come from closer monitoring. In March, the hospital began using nasal swabs to test patients for infections who were admitted to the intensive care unit or were coming from a place other than home. Beaufort Memorial also can act much more quickly to treat the infections, thanks to a new $60,000 machine that can identify the bacterial infections almost immediately, compared to waiting a couple of days for cultures to ferment.