On Mon, 14 Apr 2008 15:37:06 +0100, "Pat Gardiner"
<patgardiner@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>Pat's Note: I posted on this subject back in Fenruary The crunch quote
was:
>
>"Britain was among the countries pinpointed by the Canadian team as
>harbouring the resistant E.coli that produces extended- spectrum
>beta-lactamase (ESBL)."
>
>Now this today - from Ulster
>
>http://www.sundaylife.co.uk/news/article3608617.ece
>
>New superbug fears in Ulster
>Hospitals across Northern Ireland are on alert for a new drug-resistant
>superbug, Sunday Life can reveal.
>Sunday, April 13, 2008
>
>By Joe Oliver
>
>Health Minister Michael McGimpsey (main picture) has already launched a
>multi-million pound programme to halt the spread of hospital-acquired
>infections like MRSA and C-dif.
>
>But ESBL E.coli has re-emerged with a vengeance throughout the UK.
>
>It is contracted by eating infected chicken and other food products.
>
>Two years ago there were virtually no cases of ESBL E.coli - now some GPs
>are re****ting SIX CASES A DAY.
>
>Between 10 and 14pc of people who contract it die within 30 days, yet
there
>is no known strategy to detect and treat it. According to the latest
>available statistics, there were around 50 cases re****ted in Northern
>Ireland in 2006.
>
>Extended Spectrum Beta-Lactamase is a cousin of the E.coli bacteria found
in
>the human gut.
>
>One outbreak of the latter in Scotland in 1996 infected 500 people and
>killed 17. ESBL E.coli usually causes urinary infections but can also
cause
>blood poisoning, gall bladder disease and kidney infections.
>
>It is hard to detect and increasingly resistant to antibiotics. The
Health
>Protection Agency has urged vigilance and one Belfast-based GP said: "
It's
>in lots of food products - including chickens. Every case needs to be
>analysed, but one difficulty is that it is mainly picked up in the
>community, not hospitals."
>
>Mr McGimpsey has given the green light to spend £9m over the next three
>years combating the major superbugs.
>
>He has set new targets to reduce MRSA by 10pc and C-dif by a fifth by
March
>2009.
>
>A spokesman for Mr McGimpsey insisted last night that the department was
"
>fully aware" of ESBL E.coli and had previously issued guidance about the
>disease.
>
>He said: "The guidance deals with instances of ESBL E.coli, both in
hospital
>and in the community, covering infection control measures, screening for
>known ESBL positive patients and use of antibiotics."
Yet another reason to go veggie.
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