Germ outbreak closes three LGH wards

BY ANDY BLATCHFORD

andy.blatchford@transcontinental.ca

The Lakeshore General Hospital sealed off three wards after staff discovered a patient was carrying an infection-causing bacterium a few weeks ago.

There are currently nine confirmed cases of Vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) at the Pointe Claire institution, hospital microbiologist and infectious diseases specialist Dr. Maria Arrieta said yesterday. “It’s not a very aggressive bacteria,” she said. “But should someone get sick with it, it would be typically the person who has very little defences to fight it.”

She said the LGH has had cases of VRE in the past, but never to the point where wards had to be closed. “It’s contained,” said Arrieta, adding there were 13 cases of VRE at the hospital initially.

VRE is found in the gut of humans and animals and can lead to urinary and other infections, she said.

West Island Health and Social Services Network spokesman Louis-Pascal Cyr said 77 other patients have been exposed to the antibiotic-resistant germ. They have been regrouped into two of the closed wards. “For a lot of these patients there’s a slim chance that they actually have VRE,” Cyr said. “We’re not taking any chances, so that’s why it’s a big number.”

He said patients colonized by the germ do not show symptoms, making it a challenge for hospital staff to determine who has it. “The problem is it’s very hard to fight these bacteria. That’s why it’s treated more seriously,” Cyr said. “At this point we feel we have the situation under control.”

Cyr said not all beds in the sealed wings are full, meaning fewer are available overall.

Last month, the LGH asked the public to avoid its emergency room for 24 hours after there were more than 60 people in the ward on stretchers, nearly doubling its official capacity of 31.

With fewer beds available, the wing closures may affect the emergency room, Cyr said. “Everything has an impact with the ER,” he said. “Right now we are managing.”

On Monday morning, 42 patients were on stretchers in the emergency ward, according to Montreal’s public health website.

Meanwhile, every patient in the hospital — more than 200 — is being tested for VRE, but results could take weeks to come in, Cyr said.

He said the LGH will know more about the situation by the middle of May. One unit could open as early as next week, but it will be at least two weeks before all the wings are reopened. To reduce the spread of VRE, carriers at the LGH have been regrouped into the three wings, Cyr said. The 2-North, 3-North and 4-North wards, usually reserved for surgery recovery, geriatrics and general medicine, have been closed to new patients. ꆱ