How hospital dealt with MRSA outbreak (From Hampshire Chronicle)
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How hospital dealt with MRSA outbreak
11:11am Tuesday 6th November 2007 in News
A NEW vapour cleaning technique was key to tackling an MRSA outbreak at Winchester hospital, according to a top microbiologist.
The Royal Hampshire County Hospital closed Freshfield surgical ward last February after 11 patients and five staff tested positive for the deadly hospital infection.
Dr Matthew Dryden, consultant microbiologist, said MRSA was first identified in two patients with wound infections.
The whole ward was screened and the others were found to be colonised with the superbug, meaning it was on their skin but not causing any problems.
MRSA was also found on bed frames, bedside lockers and computer keyboards.
Dr Dryden said: "Outbreaks like this happen in all hospitals from time to time. We were worried about the transmission from person to person.
"Staphylococcus can survive in the dust and the environment. We did find MRSA in quite a number of sites on the ward."
The ward was closed for 14 days and patients moved to isolation bays elsewhere in the hospital for treatment.
The empty ward was then decontaminated by Andover-based firm, Bioquell, using their hydrogen peroxide vapour cleaning technique.
This involved placing a unit in the ward that pumped the vapour into the air over 48 hours in a catch-all blitz.
Dr Dryden said the vapour cleaning virtually eradicated MRSA from the ward's surfaces.
The microbiologist, who recently presented the findings to a medical conference in Chicago, said no more patients were infected by the superbug over the next month.
Antiseptic soaps and nasal creams were also used to "decolonise" those carrying the superbug.
Dr Dryden said the vapour treatment could be used to kill a range of bugs, including Clostridium difficile, the stomach bug which can survive on floors, furniture and toilet seats.
He said if Winchester and Eastleigh Healthcare Trust, which runs the hospital, acquired the kit, it could be part of its regular cleaning routine.
Matthew Parks, a manager at Bioquell, said: "We offered on this occasion to go in free of charge because it is our local hospital and we wanted to show the benefits of our technology."
He declined to say how much the equipment cost.
