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

Study shows how hospital cuts MRSA rates

Link: Modelling the impact of antibiotic use and infection control practices on the incidence of hospital-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus: a time-series analysis -- Aldeyab et al., 10.1093/jac/dkn198 -- Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy.

Results: Analysis of the 5 year data set showed that temporal variations in MRSA incidence followed temporal variations in the use of fluoroquinolones, third-generation cephalosporins, macrolides and amoxicillin/clavulanic acid (coefficients = 0.005, 0.03, 0.002 and 0.003, respectively, with various time lags). Temporal relationships were also observed between MRSA incidence and infection control practices, i.e. the number of patients actively screened for MRSA (coefficient = –0.007), the use of alcohol-impregnated wipes (coefficient = –0.0003) and the bulk orders of alcohol-based handrub (coefficients = –0.04 and –0.08), with increased infection control activity being associated with decreased MRSA incidence, and between MRSA incidence and the number of new patients admitted with MRSA (coefficient = 0.22). The model explained 78.4% of the variance in the monthly incidence of MRSA. Conclusions: The results of this study confirm the value of infection control policies as well as suggest the usefulness of restricting the use of certain antimicrobial classes to control MRSA.

Hospitals to reduce visitor hours

Link: BBC NEWS | Northern Ireland | Hospitals to reduce visitor hours.

Acute hospitals in the Southern Health Trust are to reduce visiting hours in a bid to reduce infection. Health Minister Michael McGimpsey launched the initiative at Craigavon Area Hospital on Friday. Newry's Daisy Hill Hospital will also be affected. The number of visitors admitted to see each patient is also to be restricted. The trust hopes the policy will reduce the number of infections, especially those caused by so-called superbugs like MRSA and C-Difficile.

Superbugs claim the lives of 427 patients in Ulster

Link: Superbugs claim the lives of 427 patients in Ulster - Health - Belfast Telegraph.

Two of the deadliest hospital superbugs have helped cause the deaths of at least 427 patients in Northern Ireland over the past five years, it was revealed last night. The serious threat of hospital- acquired infections was underlined by new Government figures which detail how many deaths have been officially registered as linked to MRSA and Clostridium Difficile since 2002.

Hospitals must do more to beat superbugs

Link: Hospitals must do more to beat superbugs: MLA - Health - Belfast Telegraph.

A Stormont health committee member last night urged hospitals to improve basic hygiene levels in a bid to wipe out MRSA on our wards. SDLP health spokeswoman Carmel Hanna said "not enough is being done" to properly tackle potentially lethal superbugs such as MRSA. She was speaking as the Erne Hospital in Enniskillen was last night monitoring levels of MRSA on one of its wards which had to be closed after the infection was detected. The elderly care ward was closed on Monday after it was discovered that ten of the patients were carrying the multi-drug resistant bug. Those infected with the organism were not ill with MRSA but were found to have it present and so were a risk to other patients. People being looked after in the 36-bed ward remained there last night while those carrying the infection were treated in isolation.

Erne Hospital Closes Ward On MRSA Fear

Link: Northern Irish News - Erne Hospital Closes Ward On MRSA Fear.

The Enniskillen hospital has closed the ward to new admissions as the elderly patients are closely monitored. A spokeswoman for the Western Health and Social Care Trust has said that all the necessary precautions were being taken and that it is not yet clear whether the patients caught the MRSA infection at the hospital. Barrier nursing procedures have been put in place and the patients have been isolated for further monitoring. Marion Martin, the infection control nurse at the hospital, said that patients were sometimes infected with MRSA before they are admitted and that’s why the precautions have been put in place.

Hospital Cleanliness in N Ireland

Link: House of Commons debates (TheyWorkForYou.com).

What steps are being taken to ensure the highest standards of cleanliness in hospitals in Northern Ireland.

Click the link above for the detailed response

MRSA virus may have been passed by nurses

Link: Newry Democrat: MRSA virus may have been passed by nurses.

     AN MRSA victim who died after spending months in hospital may have contracted the super-bug from the hands of his nursing staff, an inquest has heard. Dr Michael Rothburn, an independent infectious diseases expert, claimed a lapse in hygiene by staff at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast was the most likely cause of a disease which left the victim fighting for life. Brendan McDowell, 43, from Mullartown Heights, Annalong, died in February 2004 after suffering multi-organ failure which his family has linked with hospital-acquired infections. Dr Rothburn said: “The likely mechanism of spread was from one to another patient by another healthcare worker, hence, an unidentified lapse of hand hygiene by hospital staff probably resulted.”

MRSA charges dominate Belfast inquest

Link: RTE News

    An inquest in Belfast has been dominated by the issue of how hospitals deal with the MRSA bug. The widow of a man in his 40s, who was infected while undergoing treatment for back injuries and later died, has alleged hospital staff ignored her warnings about the conditions in which he was being treated. Brendan McDowell, a 43-year-old construction worker from Co Down, was seriously injured in December 2003 when part of a building he was demolishing fell on him.

Man begged not to be returned to MRSA ward

Link: Belfast Telegraph.

     A 42-year-old man who died a "horrific death" after contracting MRSA begged not to be returned to the ward where he was first diagnosed with the killer bug, his inquest has been told. Brendan McDowell, a self employed digger operator, was admitted to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast in December 2003 after he was injured at work. On the first day of his inquest, a doctor who treated him said results of tests pointed to the fact that he contracted the superbug while in the hospital.

MRSA riskier 'in NI's busy wards'

Link: BBC NEWS | Northern Ireland | MRSA riskier 'in NI's busy wards'.

     Overcrowding in Northern Ireland hospitals is leading to an increased risk of the potentially fatal infection MRSA, according to a new study. It suggests half of NI's surgical wards have been exceeding the UK's overcrowding guidance limit. It said half of NI's surgical wards examined between 2003-2004 had a percentage bed occupancy greater than the UK recommended limit of 82%. All 11 medical facilities in NI Trusts had occupancy rates greater than 85%. The University of Ulster study is published in the British Journal of Nursing. It also found that the time between one patient leaving a bed and another patient using it may be as little as 72 minutes. The study goes on to say that with waiting lists and waiting times being longer in Northern Ireland than in other part of the UK, the higher the level of bed occupancy means there is a higher risk of being infected by MRSA.