Visitor restrictions in place at hospital

North Bay General Hospital
News Release

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Today the North Bay General Hospital restricted visitors to 6W Scollard as it continues to deal with an outbreak of MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. The outbreak has been confined to the 6th floor and all precautions are being undertaken to contain the outbreak. To date, eight cases have been confirmed and infection control staff is investigating the cause.

Visiting restrictions on the 6W Scollard Unit ARE NOW in place. Only those patients in palliative care or under special circumstances will be allowed visitors.

MRSA is a type of bacteria that is resistant to treatment.

Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) bacteria lives on the skin, nose, the lower intestine, and may cause an infection and resist antibiotics (people may carry the bacteria without having symptoms). Risk factors for MRSA acquisition include invasive procedures, prior treatment with antibiotics, prolonged hospital stay, stay in an intensive care or burn unit, surgical wound infection and close proximity to a colonized case.

The spread of MRSA occurs through contact and it can live on surfaces for months. Good hand hygiene is the single-most effective way to prevent the spread of infectious diseases like MRSA. Mild cases may not require treatment and severe cases may require other antibiotics.

In 2008, Ontario hospitals began public reporting incidences of MRSA, however, the reporting is specific only to MRSA in the blood stream. As this current outbreak is NOT MRSA in the blood stream we expect the public reporting of NBGH statistics for January 2010 will show that we have no MRSA (blood stream related) cases.

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