The Ottawa Hospital will begin testing overnight patients for two virulent strains of bacteria beginning in January to help combat infections and deaths.
Overnight patients will be screened for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE), two strains of bacteria that, along with other hospital-acquired superbugs, kill thousands of Canadians annually.
The mandatory screening follows a pilot project the hospital conducted in the summer, which found that certain members of the patient population should but weren't screened for the drug-resistant bacteria, hospital spokeswoman Allison Neill said.
The Ottawa Hospital will be the second hospital to adopt universal screening for these two superbugs. Toronto's University Health Network initiated testing for these two bacteria in the fall.
If patients test positive for either bug, they will be isolated in private hospital rooms, the hospital said.
In the six months ended September 30th, there were 82 cases of hospital-acquired MRSA at the Ottawa Hospital.
In the same period, there were 18 cases of hospital-acquired VRE at the hospital.
Source: CBC
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