KUCHING: State health director Datu Dr Zulkifli Jantan clarified that there has not been any outbreak of a ‘superbug’ called Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) in Sibu Hospital.
“There was no outbreak. In hospitals, there are usually lots of bacteria. And once in a while, it happens that some bacteria become resistant to certain antibiotics.
“And when it happens, the bacteria will be called ‘superbug”. As the name of the antibiotic is Carbapenem – thus the name of the bacteria which became resistant to Carbapenem- CRE,” Dr Zulkifli told The Borneo Post yesterday.
He said the way to prevent such an incident from happening is not to overuse antibiotics because when any antibiotic is used too widely, bacteria become resistant to them.
“The bacteria does not in general attack anyone but only those with low immunity such as patients with blood diseases and those receiving cancer treatment as well as those who have been staying in hospital for a long time,” he said.
Dr Zulkifli said he would make further comments after receiving a full report from Sibu Hospital today.
He said this in response to a press statement issued by Bukit Assek assemblyman Wong Ho Leng that there had been an outbreak of a superbug known as CRE in Sibu Hospital.
Wong had demanded an immediate explanation and action from the Health Minister, saying that enquiries with personnel in the hospital revealed that the outbreak had actually occurred two months ago but was kept away from public knowledge.
Wong had also claimed that a source informed him that even though nurses of the hospital had been directed to be vaccinated against CRE and the hospital advised to take the necessary precautions, no such vaccinations had been offered to visitors of the hospital.
“Neither have they been advised of the outbreak of the disease and the precautions they have to take to prevent its spread,” said Wong.
Wong also said a daughter of a man who had been warded in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the hospital for the past two weeks had told him that her father was infected by CRE while there, adding after he was released from ICU, he was tested positive for CRE bug and is now in isolation.
According to him, the family member said she, other relatives and friends who visited her father over the past two weeks were never told of the outbreak and were all allowed to move in and out and around the hospital freely.
He said the family member became increasingly suspicious that something was amiss when she and her relatives noticed that the staff nurses were very reluctant to attend to her father.
The Bukit Assek assemblyman also said it is imperative that the ministry and the hospital not only keep a cap on the outbreak but also advise all hospital personnel and the public on the precautions to take in order to contain the outbreak.
Wong said, “Swift action is required by everyone, including the public. We do not want a repeat of the Coxsackie E71 outbreak in 1997 which had caused the death of 31 innocent children.”