QE II fights “superbugs”

HALIFAX – The physician in charge of infectious diseases at Nova Scotia’s largest hospital is worried about the rising rate of infections by organisms that are resistant to treatment. The rate of one type — called MRSA — at the QE II Health Sciences Centre has more than doubled since 2002. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus is a common type of bacteria that has become resistant to certain types of antibiotics. It is commonly found on the skin and in the noses of healthy people. In these places, the bacterium is usually harmless, but it can cause infection if it gets into the body through a cut or during surgery. In the first nine months of 2004 there were 179 cases at the QE II. The majority were picked up at the hospital. Treating those patients cost the hospital an extra $870,000 last year. Studies show patients spend, on average, an additional 39 days recovering in hospital if they receive an antibiotic-resistant infection. Dr. Lynn Johnston, who is in charge of infectious diseases at the QE II, is worried about the increase over the past two years. Johnston said the infections are dangerous, but it is hard to pin any deaths to MRSA. “It’s always very difficult to do that because as you can imagine the folks that get these infections are very sick to begin with.” Patients infected with MRSA are put into isolation. Equipment used on those people can’t be used on anyone else. Johnston explained the hospital is taking steps to make sure staff are more vigilant about washing their hands, because that is one of the ways MRSA can spread. “We know that healthcare workers, for a number of reasons, are not always as careful as with hand washing as they should be.” The results of the pilot project are being reviewed to see if the extra precautions are helping to reduce the rate of infection.