Super-bug hits at North Shore Hospital

By MARTIN JOHNSON

North Shore Hospital has been hit by a super-bug that is resistant to various antibiotics.

Seventeen people, patients and staff, have been infected.

The bacterium called methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has developed resistance to antibiotics including methicillin and erythromycin, but is still sensitive to others such as vancomycin, a more expensive drug.

Waitemata District Health Board chief executive Dwayne Crombie said last night he was unaware of anyone becoming seriously ill during the hospital's latest outbreak.

It began about a fortnight ago in ward 8, a surgical ward, and had been confined there.

"We've got full infection control in place. We're just making sure we don't spread it."

All patients were tested and those with the bug were isolated. Warning signs had been erected and cleaning was intensive.

Dr Crombie said ward 8 continued to take new patients without MRSA, but, "we're filling up everywhere else preferentially".

"You can find it in any of the big hospitals in New Zealand. We get outbreaks once or twice a year. We've always managed to control them.

"Whenever we find it we've taken quite an aggressive stance to try and eradicate it. Many overseas hospitals have given up trying to reduce the prevalence."

Staphylococcus aureus is often found in the noses or on the skin of up to 30 per cent of healthy people, causing them no problems.

MRSA is no more dangerous or virulent than the methicillin-sensitive version, but is harder to treat.

MRSA infection usually develops in patients who are elderly or very sick or who have an open wound or a tube going into their body.

In 2001, MRSA featured in 1044 New Zealand public hospital cases, affecting patients and hospital staff.

Parliament's health select committee this month urged the Health Ministry to set up a national surveillance system for hospital-acquired infections "as a matter of urgency".

This followed an Auditor-General report on the management of such infections.