Covid, flu, and RSV outbreaks rampant in Irish hospitals and nursing homes

Hospitals are struggling with the surge in flu, RSV, and Covid. But with patients crowded in close proximity, the hospitals are also hotbeds for those airborne infections. Stock picture

Covid, flu, and RSV were among the most rampant diseases in hospitals and nursing homes in the week running up to Christmas.

People who are being left waiting on trolleys are at most risk of contracting the infections, according to new data published today.

Over 100 people fell ill in nursing homes after catching the infectious diseases as part of a number of outbreaks across the country between  December 18 and 24.

Outbreaks are defined by the HSE as “two or more linked cases of the same illness in a situation, where the observed number of cases exceeds the expected number".

Overcrowded hospitals were also a hotbed for flu, RSV, and Covid as infections ripped through emergency departments and wards.

Covid

The latest data, released by the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC), shows that there were a total of 115 Covid outbreaks and 54 non-Covid outbreaks in the seven days leading up to Christmas Eve (week 51 of 2022).

Covid remains the most infectious disease in the country, with 47 of the Covid outbreaks related to hospitals and a further 45 connected to nursing homes.

3,809 new cases of Covid were recorded in the seven-day span, with 671 hospitalisations.

Influenza

There were 16 outbreaks of influenza in Irish hospitals in the period, leading to 47 confirmed illnesses.

The worst of these outbreaks took place in an unnamed hospital in HSE East (which contains Dublin, Kildare, and Wicklow). The single outbreak in that hospital was responsible for 22 people getting sick with influenza. 

The 11 outbreaks of flu in nursing homes saw 52 people fall ill.

These included an outbreak in a nursing home within the HSE South East region (Carlow, Kilkenny, South Tipperary, Waterford, and Wexford) which saw 12 connected cases of flu, and a separate outbreak in HSE South (Cork and Kerry) which led to five nursing home residents falling ill with flu.

In total in week 51, the HPSC was notified of 2,339 new cases of influenza, almost double the tally of 1,174 from the previous week.

Of those cases, 637 people had to be hospitalised.

RSV

A further 52 residents in nursing homes contracted RSV, with six outbreaks notified by the HPSC.

Meanwhile, 11 cases of RSV — respiratory syncytial virus — were linked to hospitals, while an outbreak in a community hospital in HSE Mid-West (Clare, Limerick and North Tipperary) saw seven people contract the virus.

RSV in particular can cause a number of issues such as pneumonia or bronchiolitis in older people if it is allowed to spread to the lower respiratory tract. 

Other infections

Other notified outbreaks to the HPSC included reports of acute infectious gastroenteritis in 23 people, a suspected scabies outbreak in HSE South in a residential institution, and an outbreak of salmonellosis in an unnamed region.

On Friday, 535 people were awaiting beds in Irish hospitals, with Cork University Hospital (CUH) having the most patients left on trolleys in the country.

According to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO), 54 people were waiting on a bed in CUH at 8am.

The INMO has called on the Government to declare an "out-and-out crisis" due to the overcrowding issue in hospitals, while top consultants fear that at least 5,000 beds are needed in order to relieve some of the pressure on the emergency wards in hospitals.