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The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:
The spokesperson for Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) made the following update today (September 24) regarding an earlier announcement on a cluster of Vancomycin Resistant Enterococci (VRE) carriers in a medical ward:
In accordance with the prevailing infection control guidelines, contact tracing has been performed. Ten patients (aged 68 to 98, six male and four female) were confirmed as carriers of VRE but without clinical symptoms. Eight patients are still hospitalised and are now under medical surveillance and isolation with stable condition, one was discharged and the remaining one died of her underlying illness.
The QEH Infection Control Team and the departments concerned have adopted the following prevailing enhanced infection control measures:
1. Strongly encourage patients to perform hand hygiene;
2. Enhanced hand hygiene for staff;
3. Applied stringent contact precautions, including dedicated use of clinical items to VRE carriers;
4. Enhanced environmental and equipment decontamination; and
5. Active surveillance culture for in-patients.
The cases have been reported to the Hospital Authority Head Office and the Centre for Health Protection for necessary follow-up. The QEH Infection Control Team will continue to closely monitor the situation of the ward.
Ends/Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Issued at HKT 18:15
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