We now have a little more information on the
Irish human case of MRSA st398 from Irish Health.
The first news came on Monday and is here with comment.
The strain was indeed MRSA st398, ( cc398 ) as we expected, and the Irish are connecting it to
pigs at least generally, and we know it was found late last year.
The article made it clear that there is a difference between Irish and
other European guidelines.
The Irish Health authorities confirm that prompt detection of isolates of this strain among animals and humans in Ireland is of the utmost importance, and that if they find any more cases they intend to do something about it.
The speed is not very commendable, but at least they
recognise that they may have a problem and may have to implement stricter measures
to protect the hospitals.
British veterinary heads are still firmly stuffed under the pillow and will have to be dragged out to face reality and a growing crisis.
The full Irish Health article is available here
First Irish case of 'pig
MRSA'
[Posted: Sat 13/10/2012 by Niall Hunter,
The first livestock-associated
MRSA case has been reported in Ireland, following lab tests on an elderly
patient.
The health authorities have
warned that if more specimens of this potentially deadly new MRSA type are found
in Ireland, extra infection prevention and control measures will have to be
implemented to prevent its spread.
This would include pre-admission
screening of high-risk patients who have had close contacts with livestock.
While it has not been confirmed
whether the patient concerned became seriously ill as a result of the bug, this
type of MRSA has been known to cause life-threatening infections in humans when
it has occurred in other countries.
The HSE's Health Protection
Surveillance Centre (HPSC) has revealed that the ST398 MRSA strain, sometimes
dubbed 'pig MRSA', was detected recently an elderly man living in a rural
nursing home, who had been a part-time cattle farmer.
He was screened a number of times
for MRSA during periods of hospitalisation between 2009 and 2011, and the 'pig
MRSA' bug was found following extensive lab tests after his most recent
hospitalisation late last year.
'Pig MRSA' was originally
reported in 2005 among pigs, pig farmers and their close contracts in France
and the Netherlands...
...It said if more isolates of the
'pig MRSA' strain are detected in Ireland, additional infection prevention and
control measures will be needed to prevent its spread.
This would potentially include
extending pre-admission screening of patients at high-risk of infection
entering Irish hospitals to those with close contacts, or family members with
close contacts with livestock.
The HPSC's report did not state
in which part of Ireland the case occurred.
