{"id":3056,"date":"2015-03-31T14:32:18","date_gmt":"2015-03-31T18:32:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/52.229.122.34\/en\/?p=3056"},"modified":"2017-06-14T13:50:24","modified_gmt":"2017-06-14T17:50:24","slug":"the-ottawa-hospital-is-seeing-an-increase-in-cases-of-mrsa-in-the-neonatal-intensive-care-unit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/newsroom\/the-ottawa-hospital-is-seeing-an-increase-in-cases-of-mrsa-in-the-neonatal-intensive-care-unit\/","title":{"rendered":"The Ottawa Hospital is seeing an increase in cases of MRSA in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit"},"content":{"rendered":"

March 30, 2015<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 <\/strong> The Ottawa Hospital\u2019s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at the General Campus is seeing an increase in the presence of\u00a0a bacteria called Methicillin-Resistant<\/em> Staphylococcus aureus<\/em>, or MRSA. It is important to note that none of the 10 affected babies in the unit is unwell as a result of the bacteria.<\/p>\n

MRSA is a common bacteria found in the nose, on the skin or in the lower intestine and rarely causes any problems. In certain situations, like in premature infants who are still developing their immune system, MRSA can lead to an infection of the blood, lungs or skin and can be treated with antibiotics.<\/p>\n

MRSA can be passed on to other people through touch.\u00a0 It can survive on regular surfaces and on hands for a short period of time. However, with proper use of alcohol hand gels and good hand washing, it is easy to kill.<\/p>\n

The Ottawa Hospital NICU and Infection Prevention and Control teams have put several strategies in place to prevent the spread of this bacteria on the unit:<\/p>\n