An outbreak of antibiotic-resistant bacteria at the Owen Sound Hospital is affecting six patients.
The patients are only carrying the VRE bacteria at this time — and Grey Bruce Health Services reports no patients have fallen ill.
Interim President and CEO Maureen Solecki says they were able to determine through lab tests that the patients have tested positive for the bacteria.
As a precaution, the hospital is temporarily closing Unit 4-1 to new admissions and will re-open late next week at the earliest.
The hospital policy of only allowing two visitors per patient is being strictly enforced and pets and children are not being allowed in right now.
Staff are encouraging extra hand hygiene and are working with infectious disease specialists at Toronto’s University Health Network to keep things under control.
Solecki says on the recommendation of the University Health Network, they have increased the level of cleaning in patient rooms and actually cleaning rooms twice after a patient is discharged.
VRE bacteria live in the human bowels and are resistant to Vancomycin, a strong antibiotic to tread infection.
The bacteria can live for a long time on surfaces like bed rails, telephones, and doorknobs, and that’s why keeping hands clean is extremely important.
Solecki says VRE used to only be found in larger teaching hospitals, but is now found in every hospital, with several residents in each community testing positive for the bacteria, meaning extra vigilance is needed.
Solecki says under the best case scenario, Unit 4-1 at the Owen Sound hospital should be able to gradually re-open at the end of next week.
She says depending on patient monitoring, it could take slightly longer.