VRE is an intestinal bacteria transmitted through common contact surfaces, such as handles and faucets in toilets. Therefore, patients admitted to Västervik and Kalmar hospitals during the current period will receive a sample collection kit. There are about a hundred people affected.
– For those who have become infected, it is not particularly dangerous, and you rarely get sick. Ninety-five percent feel nothing about it. But the problem is that there are always vulnerable patients with compromised immune systems, and it’s hard to find good antibiotics, says Per-Åke Jarnheimer.
Once a VRE is detected in a patient, a new course of antibiotics must be implanted, and this may take up to two days.
– There are no discs, says Per-Åke Jarnheimer.
big blast
Most of the cases were detected at Västervik Hospital, but after the infection was traced, cases were also confirmed at the district hospital in Kalmar. Therefore, the extent of the outbreak may be greater than the known cases.
– This is not good. The worst that could happen is that there will be a large and widespread infection, and we don’t want anyone to get sick. A significant portion of antibiotics do not bite bacteria. This is more common in other parts of the world, but not in Sweden, says Anna Michalson, chief medical officer at Västervik Hospital.
We suspect it could be a larger outbreak, because you don’t get sick. There will be a silent spread of infection, and it is difficult to know how it will end. You don’t have to think “Oh my God” now I’m going to get sick, and you don’t have to worry, says Per-Åke Jarnheimer.
More Stories
The contribution of virtual reality to research in medicine and health
The sun could hit the Internet on Earth
In memory of Jens Jørgen Jørgensen