Superbug hits S'pore hospital

Superbug hits S'pore hospital

All non-emergency surgery has been canceled at Singapore's top hospital, where 15 patients have been hit by a drug-resistant strain of bacteria, but the public was urged on Saturday not to become alarmed.

Singapore General Hospital (SGH) said it is testing another 933 patients who may have come into contact with vancomycin- resistant enterococci (VRE). It does not cause disease in healthy people.

"We are taking aggressive steps to ensure that the VRE does not become entrenched in this hospital" and for that matter in other institutions, said Professor Tay Boon Keng, chairman of the medical board.

The cancellation of elective surgery starting on Monday and announced on late Friday will allow the hospital "greater maneuverability" should it need to isolate more patients, he said.

VRE is a threat to people with weak immune systems such as those suffering from cancer or kidney failure, said Dr. Asok Kumar, an internal medicine consultant. It can be fatal in such cases.

The stools of all patients at the facility are being screened for the bacteria commonly found in the gastrointestinal tract. Of the 15 carriers found at SGH, only one has been infected, a diabetic who has had a leg amputated.

Vancomycin is a powerful antibiotic that doctors often regard as a last-resort drug to eliminate bacterial infections.

The 15 have been found since March 9, Tay said. Some patients who have left the hospital will need to be tested for the bacteria, which is spread through direct contact with an infected person, usually by the hands or an open wound.

The identities of the people carrying the bug will be circulated to all hospitals and nursing homes in case they are admitted elsewhere.

SGH will bear the cost of treatment for those who have caught VRE at the hospital, which ranges between S$200 (US$123) to $800 a day.

Signs have been put up along the hospital's corridors reminding patients, visitors and staff to wash their hands. Visitors have been restricted to two per patient.

VRE was first reported in the United States in the late 1980s and has become a major cause of hospital-acquired infections in the U.S.

The 15 hit here comprise the largest cluster of VRE ever identified in the city-state. The previous high was six cases last year, also at SGH.

Patients who have the bacteria may be infectious for several months. -- DPA