Canadian hospitals fighting deadly superbug

[marmar]

from the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. News:


Superbug infections climbing in Canadian hospitals: report
Last Updated: Thursday, March 27, 2008 | 11:48 AM ET Comments16Recommend48CBC News

At least 2,300 people died in 2006 as a result of an MRSA superbug and nearly 12,000 new patients were infected, as rates of the antibiotic-resistant bacteria continue to climb in Canadian hospitals, according to figures released by the federal government.

A national surveillance program using data from 48 hospitals in nine provinces found 5,787 new cases of infection by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteria in 2006, a 2.7-per-cent increase over 2005 figures, which translates into 8.04 cases per 1,000 hospital admissions.

Dr. Andrew Simor, who co-chaired the surveillance program, extrapolated those figures to estimate the number of MRSA-related deaths in Canadian hospitals.

As well, he calculated there were 29,000 new patients carrying MRSA bacteria in 2006, of whom 11,700 had new infections.

Hospitals main source of infections

Of the cases recorded from the nine provinces, 62 per cent were thought to have been acquired in network hospitals and seven per cent in other acute care hospitals.

But 15 per cent were believed to be community-acquired, a rate that has doubled in Canada over the last five years, Simor said. .......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/03/27/mrsa-report.html

[seemslikeadream]

1. Infection rate slower than in U.S.

[Clear Blue Sky]

2. That bug is bad news...

[madrchsod]

3. i have to have another operation

because of the infection that set in..it was`t mrsa but i`m scared that i`ll get it this time around. the doctor refuses to do the operation at the hospital where he performed the surgery.i`m looking for a hospital close that has a low rate of mrsa infections.

[marions ghost]

4. when my Mom had MRSA

we had to visit her wearing gloves and paper gowns and wash our hands repeatedly. ;( She did get over it with vancomycin treatment but it really weakens patients who are already sick. Hospitals are having a hard time with this.