MRSA-style baby bug crisis hits hospitals

Thousand of tots catch killer virus
 

THOUSANDS of babies are being struck down by a deadly virus spreading rapidly through our hospitals.

Premature and newborn tots are most at risk from the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) which they can pick up on dirty wards — just like MRSA.

RSV, which unlike MRSA also spreads through the air, can cause serious breathing problems including pneumonia.

And the number of cases reported by doctors, both in and out of hospital, TRIPLED in the last year.

There were 1,066 cases in November, three times the figure for that month in 2003. The tally soared to 2,335 in December.

Fatal

At least one case is said to have been fatal.

Hospitals are now struggling to cope with the outbreak. One even had to close its baby unit when all 17 tots caught the virus.

Babies with RSV must be kept in isolation in special cots with machines to help them breathe and feed. Many hospitals don't have adequate facilities and have to send infected babies to specialist units, sometimes miles away.

"RSV has an absolutely major impact for every hospital in the country," said an NHS official.

Health chiefs have ordered NHS trusts to raise hygiene standards in a bid to fight the outbreak. A Department of Health spokesman said: "Measures to reduce cross-infection include rigorous hand-washing, use of disposable gloves and rapid diagnosis.

"They are a key part of wider programmes to reduce healthcare-acquired infections."

RSV is a widespread virus and most tots can be expected to catch it by the time they are a year old, with no lasting ill-effects.

But vulnerable children like premature and newborn babies are more likely to develop bronchiolitis, an inflammation of the tiny air passages in the lungs.

About 40 per cent of these tots will suffer long-term breathing problems like asthma.

Bug

Labour MP John Mann said the closure of the baby unit at Milton Keynes General Hospital, Bucks, in 2002 showed the scale of the problem. He added: "I want an explanation from ministers as to why more isn't being done to deal with this virus."

Shadow Health Secretary Andrew Lansley also called for government action to tackle a huge rise in the number of children being infected with the MRSA superbug.

Cases have TRIPLED since Labour came to power, from just 28 in 1987 to 81 in 2003. Mr Lansley said: "The government hasn't prioritised cleaning hospitals. How many more casualties will there be?"