Wet wipe are the prime defendant in an unusual disease outbreak sweeping across hospitals in Norway .
At least 239 people in 33 hospital across Norway have fall unbalanced after being infect with the bacteriumPseudomonas aeruginosa , harmonize to theNorwegian Institute of Public Health ( NIPH ) .
The outbreak wasfirst reportedin November 2020 at a hospital in Tromsø . After several months of uncertainty , the strain of bacteria responsible for for the outbreak was found inside a packet boat of pre - moistened disposable washcloths made by the UK - based caller Vernacare . In an announcement this week , the NIPH said the strain has been bump in another eight disposable material from the same batch , fortify suspicions that the stiff wipes are the culprit .
The wipes , which have been taken out of circulation by the NIPH , are used in hospital to give bed baths to critically inauspicious patients that are too sick or rickety to lave by themselves .
“ The health trust have participate in an extensive outbreak investigation where , among other things , mathematical function of septic patients and exam of products and equipment they have been in contact with , has been a precedency , ” Kirsten Gravningen , chief doctor at the National Institute of Public Health , order in apress release .
“ Now it will be important to find the extent of contamination in the suspected production , ” add Gravningen
P. aeruginosais typically harmless for intelligent the great unwashed , but can have serious contagion in patients with weakened resistant organization . Symptoms of the potentially fatal disease depend on which part of the dead body is infect , but it can leave in everything from fevers and head ache to hide rashes .
The bacteria can be found in many natural environments , like dampish land and water , but it ’s often find in hospital and nursing homes because of its ability to infect immunocompromised patient . curiously enough , the bacterium possess the power tobreak down stark crude , which imply it could be a useful cock to clean up petroleum spills .
Like other hospital - acquired infection , there is also the problem of the bacterium profit resistance to antibiotic drug . Due to the overuse and abuse of antibiotic , doctor around the world are findingP. aeruginosainfections more and more tough to treat because of antibiotic resistance . In fact , theWorld Health Organizationlists multidrug - resistantP. aeruginosaas one of the 12 highest endangerment " priority pathogens " to keep an eye on .
According to statistic from theCDC , in 2017 , multidrug - resistantP. aeruginosacaused an estimated 32,600 infection among hospitalise patients and around 2,700 deaths in the US .
