Flu virus forces CUH to limit visitor numbers

A highly contagious flu virus that carries serious implications for sick patients has forced another major hospital to drastically curtail visitor numbers.

Yesterday, Cork University Hospital (CUH) joined Beaumont Hospital in Dublin and Tralee General Hospital in Kerry in introducing strict visitor restrictions in an effort to curb spread of the illness within the hospital.

Dr Bartley Cryan, consultant microbiologist at CUH, said one patient at the hospital with flu-like symptoms is in the intensive care unit (ICU).

The HSE said there was currently one confirmed case of the H1N1 or swine flu virus at CUH.

Dr Cryan said swine flu was among three strains circulating, but that the current flu vaccine offers protection against it.

“A lot of flu strains, generally speaking, will come from an animal source at some stage, usually pigs or birds. When you get a totally new strain — such as swine flu in 2009 — then you have a big population that is not immune and you get a pandemic,” Dr Cryan said.

However, swine flu was no longer novel and the flu vaccine has been developed to provide protection against it, Dr Cryan said.

He said that while the current rate of flu infection was not at endemic or pandemic levels, it was up on this time last year. The most recent figures from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) show rates rose from 20.5 per 100,000 population to 32.4 per 100,000 during the second week of February, above threshold levels. Twenty-three confirmed flu cases were admitted to ICU to date this season and there have been five influenza-associated deaths.

CUH is allowing just one named visitor per patient per day with no children allowed. Security staff are in place at CUH to make sure restrictions are adhered to. Patients on two wards are affected by flu-like illness at the hospital and on one ward at Kerry General. At Beaumont, patients are allowed one “essential” visitor.

Dr Mike Henry, consultant respiratory physician at CUH, said they were appealing to the public to stay away.

“The flu virus is highly contagious and can seriously affect patients who are already sick in hospital. The outbreak sees emergency admissions and discharges from the hospital being affected as patients with flu cannot be admitted to a ward or discharged to other healthcare facilities. We would appeal to people to strictly adhere to the visiting restrictions and not to visit any healthcare facility if they have any flu type symptoms,” Dr Henry said.

The Mid West Regional Hospital in Limerick is also under pressure from the flu virus with 42 patients on trolleys in recent days.

The flu vaccine is available free of charge from GPs for all people in at risk groups, and from pharmacists for everyone aged 65 and over. For more information, log onto www.hse.ie/eng/health/hl/hcaiamr/flu/