Overcrowding in hospitals is one of the main reasons why the Republic has a high level of infection with a strongly resistant and dangerous microbe, according to an infectious disease expert.
Dr Robert Cunney, consultant microbiologist with the National Disease Surveillance Centre (NDSC), blamed overcrowding and understaffing for the level of infection with the so-called superbug - methicillin resistant staph. aureus (MRSA).
Responding to a report from the British National Audit Office (NAO), which found an 8 per cent increase in the number of hospital infections with the MRSA bug in Britain between 2002 and 2004, Dr Cunney said: "the level of MRSA infection in Irish hospitals is primarily related to the relatively poor infrastructure and a shortage of key infection control personnel".
However, he emphasised that under the Government's Strategy for the Control of Antibiotic Resistance in Ireland(SARI) initiative, additional funding of €4.5 million per annum has been provided and progress was being made towards reversing the infrastructural deficit.
The latest figures from the NDSC show there were 477 cases of MRSA in the Republic last year. This represents a rate of 0.14 cases per 1,000 hospital bed days, which is lower than the rate in the UK but higher that the EU average.
Dr Cunney blamed two major factors for the MRSA problem. The overuse of antibiotics was a key reason, he said. "At European level, there is a definite association between MRSA rates and antibiotic usage rates. Spain and Portugal, which have high rates of antibiotic use, also have high rates of MRSA infection", he said.
The ease of transmission of the bacterial infection from person to person was another contributory factor.
Dr Cunney said that with bed occupancy rates running at 100 per cent and a shortage of isolation facilities, hospitals were overcrowded, leading to the ready spread of MRSA.
A combination of understaffing at ward nurse level and a shortage of infection control experts meant the Republic "had a low base line in terms of infrastructure compared with the rest of Europe".
The British report also highlighted the problem of hospital overcrowding. Almost half of health trusts said patients were having to be moved within hospital more often, increasing the risk of infection with MRSA.
It found that MRSA infection rates were up to seven times higher in some NHS trusts than others, with specialist London hospitals recording some of the highest rates.
MRSA: all you need to know
What is Staph. Aureus? Staphylococcal aureus is a bacterium that is carried harmlessly on the skin and in the nose by 30 per cent of people. It is a common cause of skin infections. However, people who have had recent surgery or a major illness are at risk of developing a serious staph. aureus infection in the bloodstream.
What is Methicillin Resistant Staph. Aureus (MRSA)? Methicillin is a form of penicillin, developed to treat penicillin resistant forms of staph. aureus. By the 1960s, however, versions of the bug that were resistant to methicillin appeared. The term methicillin resistant staph. aureus was coined and continues to be used to describe antibiotic resistant variants of the microbe.
Is MRSA a superbug? No, contrary to popular belief, it is not a superbug. It is a difficult infection to treat, but that is different to a superbug, which is a bacterium that is highly infectious. The term resistant bug would be more appropriate.
How can it be treated? The patient must be isolated in a side room away from others and special nursing procedures used. First line treatment is with an antibiotic called vancomycin; however, resistance to this drug may also occur in which case a new antibiotic, linesolid, will be prescribed.