Royal Hospital basically confirms the rumors on virus

This classic today in the outstanding Times of Oman, with a statement from Royal Hospital ... err... effectively confirming an outbreak of drug resistant bacteria (bug un-named, but presumably Acinetobacter). I haven't read all the rumors, so maybe there was the idea around that this was some unusual bug that could infect large numbers of healthy adults.

The issue, as I think Royal is trying to say, is that these sort of bugs are unfortunately around everywhere these days - especially hospitals and old folks homes, and predominantly infect really sick people (see previous post). They are not actually super-bugs, but just the same nasty bugs that have been around for ever who have become resistant to many of the antibiotics used to cure the disease. Its a case of welcome back to the 19th century folks.

The problem is the treatment for these resistant bugs, especially in people who are sick/immuno compromised anyway, is tricky. It usually needs some heavy and expensive antibiotic like intravenous vancomycin, which is more toxic than the synthetic penicillins. This can be a problem if you're already treating someone for kidney failure for example.

Occasionally it seems these bugs do kill healthy people.

A good reason to:
1/ avoid hospitals
2/ if you go, try not to touch anything. Wash your hands well and often.
3/ don't shake hands with doctors or nurses
4/ don't use the pens provided to you, use your own.
5/ don't take small children, or anyone with an open wound, old people, etc.
6/ avoid touching your face, nose, scratching etc.


Here's the confirmation statement.( No I didn't change the headline).
Times article

Royal Hospital denies rumours on virus spread
Wednesday, August 06, 2008 11:57:47 PM Oman Time
MUSCAT — Dr Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Saidi, senior consultant at the Royal Hospital, yesterday denied the rumours making the round about the spread of a fatal virus at the Royal Hospital.

He said the fact was that there was the presence of a type of bacteria, that is resistant to antibiotics which could be carried even by healthy people.

The presence of the bacteria in the Intensive Care Unit was due to the weak immune system of the patients transferred to the said unit for various medical reasons. Such patients, if infected, would be at risk compared to other patients, he added.

This type of bacteria could also be a factor leading to death, but not the main reason for death, he said. The presence of such bacteria is natural, whether in the Sultanate or in other countries, he said.

The medical teams at the hospital were ready to deal with any emergency and were working round the clock, he said, stressing the need for adhering to the hospital's instructions to the patients as well as visitors.

For those interested in more scientific information on the topic, here's a really nice paper on the problem with another (and more famous) super-bug - MRSA. All about how to treat outbreaks, what is means, etc etc.

POST-PRESS (thanks for the link Willie!): New Yorker - Superbugs story

Avoid Royal Hospital - reports of drug resistant bug outbreak

Rumours flying at the moment - especially in the Arabic Omani blogosphere - about an outbreak of drug resistant bacteria at Royal Hospital. Several ICU units have been closed. Unhelpfully, the authorities are maintaining that the closures are just for regular maintenance, and there's no official statement I've seen on the bug thing.

The best info I have indicates its a relatively minor attack of Drug-resistant Acinetobacter. You can find out all about it here at the excellent US Government Center for Disease Control or CDC.

Outbreaks of Acinetobacter infections typically occur in intensive care units and healthcare settings housing very ill patients. Acinetobacter infections rarely occur outside of healthcare settings.

According to the experts, as with the super-bug MRSA, its therefore in theory not a huge issue for 'normally healthy adults'. But of course it is a big issue for the immuno-compromised, people with open wounds, lung disease, the very young and very old, and diabetics. Unfortunately, that's a list of conditions that includes large numbers of people, especially in a hospital.

This would, of course, not be the first time. There was an outbreak at Royal reported in the Saudi Medical Journal in 2004, July V25(7):page 961-3: 'Outbreak of multidrug resistant Acinetobacter in the neonatal intensive care unit.' By Manzar S.
Department of Child Health, Royal Hospital, PO Box 1331, Postal Code 111, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman. I'm sure our hospitals get super-bug outbreaks all the time. Its one of the reasons I like to stay away from hospitals - they are not healthy places!

Attempts to not talk about super-bug outbreaks in hospitals is also far from restricted to Oman. You'll read lots on the net about the same suppression of the truth about infection outbreaks in the UK and USA too. In fact, the whole super-bug thing can make some pretty scary reading. Last year it was reported that more people died of MRSA in the USA than of AIDS...

See google for more, if you want. Look up MRSA and Acinetobacter.

And wash your hands please.