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The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:
The spokesperson for Prince of Wales Hospital made the following announcement today (January 14):
Eight patients (aged 57 to 90) of a male medical ward have been confirmed as carriers of Multi-drug Resistant Acinetobacter since December 18, 2014. Three of them have been discharged. One is still hospitalised while three patients have been transferred to Shatin Hospital. All hospitalised patients are under medical surveillance and isolation with stable condition. One patient had passed away due to underlying disease.
Acinetobacter is a bacterium which is commonly found in water and soil. It can also colonise or live in a patient without causing infection or symptoms. Acinetobacter poses very little risk to healthy people and does not cause disease most of the time. However, it may sometimes cause disease in patients with weakened immune systems. Effective antibiotics are available for treatment. Careful attention to infection control procedures, such as hygiene and environmental cleaning, can reduce the risk of transmission.
The following enhanced infection control measures have already been adopted:
1. Enhancing disinfection and cleaning of the ward concerned;
2. Applying stringent contact precautions, including dedicated use of clinical equipment for all patients in the ward concerned and enhancing hand hygiene;
3. Performing contact tracing and screening new patients who are admitted to the ward concerned;
4. Enhancing environmental sampling for monitoring; and
5. Enhancing attention to contamination-prone procedures.
The cases have been reported to the Hospital Authority Head Office and the Centre for Health Protection for necessary follow-up. The hospital will continue to closely monitor the situation of the ward.
Ends/Wednesday, January 14, 2015
Issued at HKT 19:58
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