MRSA outbreaks ‘occur in the community’
Small numbers of patients have visited their GPs with the condition and are immediately referred to hospitals, Dr Angela Rossney said yesterday. It remainsunclear exactly how many community MRSA cases are occurring.
The chief medical scientist with the National MRSA Reference Laboratory based in St James’s Hospital said: “There is something, in terms of numbers it’s much smaller, and that is the emergence of MRSA in the community.”
The seriousness of community-acquired MRSA emerged between 1997 and 1999 in North America when four children died from the condition.
Scientists in Ireland have watched its emergence over the past three years.
“In Ireland, we have been looking for it since about 2004 and we had been using one particular marker. We have found a certain amount but we suspect there’s a greater [amount]... and what we have picked up is only quite a small proportion,” Dr Rossney said at a conference on the bug at Trinity College Dublin.
“The question is how much community acquired MRSA is out there? We really don’t know. It is quite different from the hospital acquired strain.”
The national monitoring laboratory has examined up to 25 cases of community acquired MRSA.
Dr Rossney said resources were the key to eradicating MRSA: “We should be putting an awful lot more resources into it. Hospitals need to have enough isolation beds, they need not be overcrowded. You shouldn’t have more than 85% bed occupancy. You need sufficient staff, staffing at all levels and nursing staff. But [it’s] trying to get the political people to see that, that you must put in the resources to actually make this work.”
A solicitor said yesterday that gardaí are investigating hospital negligence in connection with infections.
Ian Simon with Brian Lynch and Associates in Galway said: “I’m aware that people have gone to the gardaí and made complaints under Section 30 of the Health Act. The Health Act says that a hospital must take every reasonable precaution to make sure someone doesn’t get infected while in hospital. If there is a breach in that, a hospital manager or hospital can be prosecuted in the court.”
Mr Simon is aware of two cases gardaí are involved in.
He estimates up to 500 cases are being prepared against the State for claims of injury or death due to MRSA. A quarter of his cases relate to MRSA deaths.
A MOTHER told a TCD conference yesterday of her son’s MRSA battle.
Noeleen Friel, from Kildare, has cared for Ronan since he contracted the deadly bug eight years ago. He hadan accident in 1998 and was paralysed from his upper chest down.
Shortly after an operation, he was diagnosed with MRSA.
His private health care expired and he was placed in a public ward.
Ms Friel said: “The ward was filthy with smeared windows, dirty floors and a soiled toilet brush. I went to the hospital with cleaning supplies and gloves and spent that night cleaning the room.
“Recent swabs show that MRSA is still prevalent in his wounds, so he will continue to suffer slow healing and complications.”
