Limerick hospital treats patients of deadly virus

SEVEN patients who have contracted a hospital acquired infection US statistics say kills 40% of people it infects are continuing to be treated at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Limerick.

A HSE spokesperson confirmed the individuals are suffering from the highly dangerous and drug-resistant infection Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC).

The Limerick situation is the first time the infection — which is far more dangerous than MRSA as it is based in the bowels not on the skin — has been confirmed in Ireland.