A BACTERIUM outbreak at Nicosia general hospital should be under control within the next fortnight, senior hospital staff said yesterday.
Intensive Care Unit head Dr Theodoros Kyprianou said the elevated frequency of the pathogenic bacteria Acinetobacter baumannii would be back to normal levels in more than 15 days.
Kyprianou explained that the bacteria could not be eliminated as it was a naturally occurring resident in ICUs across the globe.
“Sometimes there is an increase in frequency from normal levels which is called an outbreak. Starting now, from the outbreak’s peak, it should be back to normal in 10 to 15 days,” he said.
The ICU doctor explained that units could experience outbreaks as often as every few months or as much as several years.
In the Nicosia general hospital’s case, the outbreak was discovered during routine patient biological sample testing.
ICU patients were regularly screened for a whole range of bacteria and in this case there was an increase in frequency to such an extent that it qualified as an outbreak, he said.
Kyprianou said the hospital had recorded 20 cases of the bacteria in the last three months, from which eight cases were in the last 20 days.
Kyprianou said international protocols were put into place when an outbreak occurred.
“Additional measures need to be taken so as to avert further increases in frequency,” he said.
These measures included disinfecting the ICU at set intervals and taking regular cultures from the environment.
“Because the bacterium likes liquid surfaces it can be found in unlikely places, such as boxes that store antiseptic solution, and that is why environmental samples have to be taken from these places,” he said.
In order to be able to carry out these measures, patients were being transferred to other wards in the hospital, he said.
Kyprianou said medical staff would have to be equipped with special clothes so that the bacterium was not transferred to other parts of the hospital. Other measures included the use and handling of antibiotics within the unit, he said.
Health Minister Christos Patsalides said he had been in telephone contact with a Greek expert, who was due to arrive on the island yesterday. He said Giorgios Baltopoulos would be investigating the situation and preparing a detailed report on the outbreak.
The minister said all the necessary measures were already being taken and that an action plan had been put into motion regarding the Intensive Care Unit’s disinfection and sterilisation.
WHAT IS ACINETOBACTER?
l Acinetobacter is a group of bacteria commonly found in soil and water. It can also be found on the skin of healthy people, especially healthcare personnel.
Acinetobacter baumannii accounts for about 80 per cent of reported infections. Infections rarely occur outside of healthcare settings.
l Acinetobacter causes a variety of diseases, ranging from pneumonia to serious blood or wound infections and the symptoms vary depending on the disease.
l Acinetobacter may also “colonise” or live in a patient without causing infection or symptoms, especially in tracheotomy sites or open wounds.
l The bacterium poses very little risk to healthy people but people who have weakened immune systems, chronic lung disease, or diabetes may be more susceptible to infections.
l Hospitalised patients – especially very ill patients on a ventilator, those with a prolonged hospital stay or those who have open wounds – are at greater risk for infection.
l Acinetobacter can be spread to susceptible persons by person-to-person contact, contact with contaminated surfaces, or exposure in the environment.
l Acinetobacter is often resistant to many commonly prescribed antibiotics. Treatment should be made on a case-by-case basis by a healthcare provider. Infection typically occurs in very ill patients and can either cause or contribute to death in these patients.
(source: Centre for Disease Control and Prevention)
