Bacteria alert at QEH

THE QUEEN ELIZABETH HOSPITAL (QEH) confirmed last night that a number of wards had been hit aby a strain of bacteria that resisted many drugs.
Officials said there had been an increase in the number of Klebsiella bacteria cases affecting the Martindales Road facility for the last 18 months and that they had put several measures in place to stop the spread of these infections.
The QEH views the situation so seriously that it turned to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) for assistance and that body responded by sending in a team yesterday evening.
That team is expected “to improve on disease surveillance systems, inclusive of a laboratory information system to enhance monitoring and treatment” of the bacteria causing the problem, a statement released to the media said.