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MRSA Bacteria Found in Neo-Natal Unit of Anchorage HospitalA baby in the NICU showed signs of an unknown infection which testing later proved to be a MRSA infection, a drug-resistant staph infection.Related Content
According to Providence Medical Center officials, a baby in the neo-natal intensive care unit showed signs of an unknown infection which testing later proved to be a MRSA infection, a drug-resistant staph infection. Many parents of patients in the NICU fear that their premature babies may become infected as the immune systems of premature babies are often underdeveloped. Further testing revealed that a number of babies at the Providence Medical Center have MRSA on their skin but doctors stress that, so far, no other babies have been made sick by it. “We are segregating the babies that we know have it, even though they are not sick, from the babies that we know don’t have it right now…it's just on their skin,” said Providence Medical Center NICU Medical Director Lily Lou. Again, Providence staff stress that just because MRSA is found on the skin doesn’t mean a person or a baby is being made sick by it. Providence officials said they are available talk with the parents of any of their patients who are concerned about MRSA. |
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Kari said on Thursday, Apr 21 at 3:10 PM
Hi my name is Kari and I'm the mother of twin girls that are in that NICU. This is such an unfortunate situation. My twin girls have contracted MRSA while recieving care at Providence and it just makes my skin crawl as these babies are already fighting for their lives to begin with! If anyone would like to talk to me further about this you can contact me at kari.healey@yahoo.com.
65477954Lily Lou, MD said on Thursday, Apr 21 at 6:41 PM
I understand your concern. Lately there is increased public awareness of Staph bacteria, including MRSA. This includes important facts and also a lot of misinformation. When a baby in our Newborn Intensive Care Unit displays symptoms of illness, we take this seriously. If the cause could be spread by infection, we may screen other babies to help prevent transmission. Sometimes we screen for illness; sometimes we screen for bacteria in patients without symptoms. Staph exists throughout our community. Many people have it on their skin and are not sick. Screening positive does not mean that your baby is sick -- just that the strain can be detected by the test. Anyone who touches another person can transmit bacteria on their skin. The NICU has very stringent standards for staff hand hygiene and asks the same for parents. We believe that human contact is crucial for infant development. We do not think avoiding contact to prevent infection is worth avoiding interactions with parents.
65490292Lily Lou said on Thursday, Apr 21 at 6:59 PM
Our first priority is to provide excellent care for each baby. In our efforts to reduce exposure, we are asking parents to join us in supporting these precautions: • Hand hygiene -- the careful and regular cleaning of your hands every time before and after you touch your baby -- is the single most important thing you can do. • In addition to our usual strict hand-hygiene practices, we will care for all babies who have screened positive in one confined area of the NICU. Their clinical caregivers will only be assigned to babies that area. • We are treating all positive babies with a topical antiseptic ointment to eradicate the bacteria. • We are screening all new admissions and will rescreen weekly. • We are limiting visitation to each patient’s primary personal caregivers. If you have any further questions, please speak with any one of our caregivers in the NICU or contact us at 212-6186. -- Lily Lou, MD, medical director, Newborn Intensive Care Unit
65491477foodserver said on Thursday, Apr 21 at 9:21 PM
hi Dr. Lou and THANK YOU for your spoken and typed advice to all of us watching/reading. i am a lunchtime helper at bean's cafe, and a people mover bus user. what are my chances of catching this "mrsa". i have no cancer or aids, but i have dry skin on my hands and always use gloves while handling food at bean's.
65498474Lily L. said on Friday, Apr 22 at 1:29 PM
Dear foodserver, dry skin should not cause increased risk, but injured skin (cuts, rashes) can be protected by good handwashing and loosely covering wounds to protect them from contact with potentially infectious material. These measures can protect you from picking up bacteria like MRSA on your own skin. Also, infected skin wounds should be kept from contact with food, other people and objects that people can touch. Thank you for volunteering at Bean’s — they are such a great organization! -- Lily Lou, MD, medical director, Newborn Intensive Care Unit
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