I have been writing about this hospital for some time: look back in the archives for previous incidents including babies with MRSA.
They have pigs and have had circovirus epidemics in pigs on the island: the conditions that will produce MRSA and other superbugs epidemics in humans predicted the "Gardiner Hypothesis."
It looks as if the hospital is constantly being re-infected from the pig farms possibly via staff carriers.
They had tests on the staff last time, but seemed coy about releasing the results.
There have been so many infection scandals covered up in Canada that they are all walking on coals and know it too.
I'm really sorry for them but the Canadian public deserve honesty and openness.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/prince-edward-island/story/2009/03/10/pe-superbug-qeh.html
Charlottetown medical unit reopens after superbug causes lockdown
Last Updated: Tuesday, March 10, 2009 4:54 PM
Part of Charlottetown's Queen Elizabeth Hospital was locked down Monday afternoon and night, and has since reopened after a patient tested positive for a superbug.
'We're putting the admissions on reverse isolation procedures, which means they are isolated for their own protection.'— Rick Adams, Queen Elizabeth Hospital
Hospital officials are still trying to determine the source of the bacteria. All the patients in Unit 3 have been tested. In addition, environmental swabs have been done throughout the unit. It could take several days to get the results back.
Officials won't say which superbug, Vancomycin-resistant Enterococci (VRE) or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), was discovered Monday.
Unit 3 was reopened Tuesday, with special procedures in place to deal with new patients.
"For any admissions, we're putting the admissions on reverse isolation procedures, which means they are isolated for their own protection," said hospital executive director Rick Adams.
"They are being introduced to an environment where there may be antibiotic-resistant organisms, and the results of the tests are not back yet. The rooms have been thoroughly cleaned, so we're confident that as long as they are isolated in their rooms, precautions are certainly reasonable and adequate."
Adams said staff members have not been tested.
The hospital only recently declared the end of an outbreak of MRSA and VRE. The bacteria first showed up in the nursery last spring, and the hospital put severe restrictions on visitors to control the outbreak.
