http://www.herald.ie/national-news/3200-...

By Kevin Doyle


Saturday November 07 2009

THERE have been 3,200 cases of superbug c-diff in Irish hospitals since May last year.

Health Minister Mary Harney has revealed the shocking figures, which also show that there were 191 cases of MRSA in hospital in the first six months of this year.

The statistics come just days after an outbreak of c-diff claimed two lives at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda.

They have been described as a "serious, serious matter" by a Fine Gael TD, who told the Herald that there can be "no excuse" for the high level of infection.

Bernard Durkan said: "It's in the interest of the HSE to ensure that funding is spent in such a way as to eliminate hospital infection."

A National Surveillance system was established by the HSE to collect data and provide information to monitor Healthcare Care Associated Infections (HCAIs)in the health system.

Records on the level of c-diff only date back to May 2008, as it was not a notifiable disease at that point.

Between May and December last year, hospitals reported 1,625 cases. This figure is likely to be eclipsed this year, with the number of cases to mid-October standing at 1,574.

So far 14 cases were confirmed in Drogheda this week alone, with a further 17 patients reporting symptoms.

All elective surgery at Our Lady's has been cancelled until further notice and three wards have been closed to new admissions in an effort to contain the spread.

With regard to MRSA, the surveillance body found there were 558 cases of MRSA bloodstream infections in 2006, dropping to 536 cases in 2007 and 436 cases last year.

Minister Harney said: "This shows a significant decrease of over 25pc between 2006 and 2008."

The data is collated on a quarterly basis and for the first six months of 2009 the number of MRSA bloodstream infections were 191.

Minister Harney noted: "HCAIs continue to be a challenge for healthcare systems worldwide.

"Ireland is not unique in this regard and tackling HCAIs here continues to be a priority for the Government and for the HSE."

However, Deputy Durkan said: "In the current climate, or in any climate, the country cannot afford hospital-based infections to continue unchecked and unchallenged."

He said that while rates of MRSA were down, there is a need for "further action by the HSE, the Minister for Health and various institutional organisations involved".

Mr Durkan said that while the surveillance was working there "needs to be a follow up on it". "There is no excuse whatsoever, that can make a hospital-based infection acceptable," he said.