MRSA, Staph, Staff, Mersa, Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus Symptoms & Treatment

Deep clean needed for some hospital equipment

Link: HighWire Press -- Medline Abstract.

There is an increasing body of evidence that cleaning or disinfection of the environment can reduce transmission of healthcare-associated pathogens. Because routine cleaning of equipment items and other high-touch surfaces does not always remove pathogens from contaminated surfaces, improved methods of disinfecting the hospital environment are needed. Preliminary studies suggest that hydrogen peroxide vapour technology deserves further evaluation as a method for decontamination of the environment in healthcare settings.

Vapour treatment to tackle MRSA

Link: BBC NEWS

     A new vapour decontamination cleaning treatment to tackle bugs like MRSA is being trialled at a Midlands' hospital. Three wards at the Alexandra Hospital in Redditch, Worcestershire, will be decontaminated using the hydrogen peroxide vapour. The process involves placing a unit in an empty ward which pumps the chemical vapour into the air over 24 hours to completely clean the area. Managers hope it will be a better treatment against a range of bugs. Patients from the wards will be transferred into a temporarily closed ward during the trial while the areas are bio-decontaminated. The vapour is deadly to bacteria and viruses but is safe for patients because it is residue free and leaves behind only water vapour and oxygen.

Bugged By Mrsa Snub

Link: Bugged By Mrsa Snub

   HEALTH campaigners have criticised NHS bosses for ignoring technology which could help Lewisham Hospital solve its MRSA problem.

Earlier this year the hospital, in Lewisham High Street, trialled a groundbreaking technique designed to eliminate dangerous infections from its wards.

But now the Department of Health is refusing to invest in the equipment, which would cost each hospital around �100,000 a year to run, despite a thumbs-up from hospital bosses.

The technique, developed by Hampshire-based research firm Bioquell, involves emptying wards of patients, sealing all doors and windows and installing a series of machines.

The machines then pump out a mist of hydrogen peroxide, which kills bacteria without damaging any hospital materials.

In June, a Healthcare Commission survey revealed Lewisham was the fourth-worst hospital in the country for MRSA, with 60 recorded cases between April last year and March this year.

Lewisham Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) Forum chairman Alan Hall said: "If the hospital says this technique works I don't understand why it can't continue to use it.

VRE threat solution has MRSA relevance

Link: This Is Local London

Three patients have caught a superbug in Kingston Hospital's intensive care unit, forcing staff to keep new patients in isolation while the area was fully decontaminated. The hospital has confirmed that in recent weeks there has been a cluster of cases of Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcus (VRE), a form of antibiotic-resistant bacterium that may cause infection to already seriously ill patients. One reader, worried about a relative in the unit, said: "I asked one of the nurses why the unit was so empty and she told me it was because of a superbug. She did not tell me what it was but said it was not MRSA." New admissions to the unit were accommodated in isolation rooms after the bug was detected, and the intensive care unit had to be intensively cleaned and disinfected. A hospital spokeswoman said: "Over the weekend the area underwent full bio-decontamination using the latest technology, tested and approved by the new rapid review panel for NHS technology." The unit was sprayed with hydrogen peroxide vapour which creates a fog that covers the whole area, killing any germs. The hydrogen peroxide was then extracted by a machine that ensures that the environment is safe for immediate re-use.