Death ‘not due’ to bug

A LIMERICK man who contracted the hospital superbug, KPC, has died from an unrelated serious illness at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital.

The man was admitted to the hospital in December and subsequently contracted KPC (Klebsiella pneumonia carbapanemase) which is virtually resistant to most drugs.

It was the first outbreak of KPC in an Irish hospital.

A spokesman for the HSE said: “KPC has not been identified to be the cause of death in any patient in the Mid Western Regional Hospital.

“It must be remembered that all patients, those with KPC colonised and those infected, are in the hospital for other reasons.

“Some have more complicated underlying conditions than others.”