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The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:
The spokesperson for Queen Elizabeth Hospital made the following announcement today (April 9):
A 65-year-old male patient admitted to a medical ward on March 10 and was transferred to Intensive Care Unit on March 25. He passed away due to his own medical illness on March 27. On April 2, our hospital confirmed from his urine specimen that he had carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) with OXA-carbapenemase, an imported infected case.
The hospital later confirmed that two more patients (a male and a female, aged 79 and 56 respectively) had CRE with OXA carbapenemase. One of them has symptoms of infection and is currently under medical treatment. They are both under medical surveillance and isolation. Their conditions are stable. Meanwhile, our hospital confirmed during testing that the 79-year-old male patient's CRE also carries New Delhi metallo-њ-lactamase-1 (NDM-1).
Enterobacteriaceae is a normal gut flora which is commonly found in healthy people. Some Enterobacteriaceae may contain resistant gene which can produce carbapenemase and become carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE). Patients of immunodeficiency are at risk of infection and complication. Colistin is the mainstay of antibiotic treatment.
The cases have been reported to the Hospital Authority Head Office and the Centre for Health Protection. The Hospital Infection Control Team, the departments concerned and experts of the Centre for Health Protection held a meeting and the following enhanced infection control measures have already been adopted in Intensive Care Unit and the medical ward:
1. Enhance screening procedures on those people who had contacts with these three patients;
2. Stringent contact precautions have been applied, including dedicated use of clinical items to affected patients, and enhanced hand hygiene with the monitoring by designated colleagues;
3. Enhance environmental cleansing;
4. Hydrogen Peroxide Vapor disinfection for commonly use equipment is to be arranged;
5. Perform environmental samplings for monitoring;
6. All affected patients are being treated in isolation rooms or cohort according to their clinical symptoms and treatment needs; and
7. Visiting is limited to two people per patient during each visiting period.
The Hospital Infection Control Team will continue to closely monitor the situation of the units. The hospital is now conducting investigation to ensure whether there are any connections among these three cases.
Ends/Wednesday, April 9, 2014
Issued at HKT 21:26
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