The prevalence of MRSA, so-called superbug, has tripled in the last five years in an orthopaedic unit of a hospital in Galway, according to a study to be published next week.
The study of the antibiotic-resistant infection in the orthopedic unit of Merlin Park Hospital, Galway, recorded a total of 29 cases of the potentially fatal bug in 1999, with this number jumping to 91 in 2003. The unit has been tracking MRSA on a monthly basis.
This increased prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, reflected the increase of carriers in the general community, according to Mr John McCabe, consultant orthopedic surgeon at Merlin Park.
There were no figures documenting the number of carriers of MRSA in the general community, according to Mr McCabe. However, he believes that it is "very common".
Of the 328 cases in the unit over the last five years, some 76 per cent were carriers and 24 per cent were infected. But despite the increased prevalence of MRSA at the unit, the rate of implant-related infection has not increased for that period, Mr McCabe stated.
The best way to tackle MRSA is to minimise the rate of infection by maximising the awareness of cross-infection, according to Mr McCabe.
This can be done by simple medical-nursing hygiene and assuming that anyone can be a carrier.
"There is an undue emphasis on this issue which has caused a fear factor about this infection among the community. It is not the case that hospitals are full of superbugs," he stated.
The study, carried out at the Department of Surgery, University College Hospital Galway, will be published at the Sir Peter Freyer Memorial Lecture and Surgical Symposium in Galway.
Another study on MRSA, from the Department of Orthopaedics and Trauma at Cork University Hospital, was published yesterday in Medicine Weekly.