Deadly bacterial nightmare at Australian hospitals: One dead, as cases rise across the country
A bacterial outbreak in hospitals across the country has been linked to more than 40 people, including an elderly patient who died in Queensland.
Australia’s medical watchdog has issued a quarantine notice for salt-containing products that appear to be contaminated with Ralstonia, a form of bacteria normally found in soil and water.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration issued the warning after a bacterial outbreak in NSW. There are 43 suspected cases across the country.
Scientists in the ACT have identified products from India and Greece as a possible source of contamination, Queensland Health Minister Shannon Fentiman said on Friday.
Ms Fentiman expressed her condolences to the family of an elderly patient who died at Buderim’s private hospital after the bacteria was found in his blood.
A bacterial outbreak in hospitals across the country has been linked to more than 40 people, including an elderly patient who died at Buderim Private Hospital in Queensland (pictured)
Queensland’s chief health officer John Gerrard said he could not comment on the extent to which the infection contributed to the elderly man’s death because the matter was before the coroner.
He said there were two more confirmed infections and three probable cases in Queensland, but these were considered mild.
Three private hospitals in Queensland have been linked to cases of Ralstonia.
No cases have been identified in Queensland public hospitals.
The identified salt-containing products were in use at seven health services in Queensland and have been removed.
“An investigation is underway across all states in Australia to identify the source of the infection,” Dr Gerrard said.
‘ACT microbiologists identified the organism in at least one likely source in salty products imported from overseas.
“These products have been removed from Australian public and private hospitals following a warning from the Therapeutic Goods Administration on Friday.”
He said the multi-state investigation was still ongoing to determine if there were other sources of infection.
“I don’t want to say … that all risks have been removed,” he said.
Dr. Gerrard said Ralstonia was usually harmless and could not spread from one person to another.
“Ralstonia is a common organism in the environment,” he said.
‘It thrives in water. It is commonly found in rivers, streams and lakes. The biggest risk is if someone is somehow injected into the blood together with the organism.’
It is not the first time a bacterial cluster of this nature has occurred, Mr Gerrard said.
Australia’s medical watchdog has issued a quarantine notice for salty products that appear to be contaminated with Ralstonia – a form of bacteria normally found in soil and water.
In 1990, 19 people were infected by water samples contaminated with Ralstonia.
“If you look at the 1990 cluster, there were six of the 19 patients who died, but they all had different medical problems and other possible explanations for their deaths,” he said.
‘They are usually not simple patients, because they all have a medical problem that causes them to need an IV in the first place.’
Queensland Health issued an urgent patient safety alert on Friday after linking Ralstonia to previous outbreaks in healthcare settings due to contaminated medical fluids.
The bacteria is of particular concern to patients with underlying health conditions and patients with implanted medical devices.
Last month, NSW Health asked every state to be on alert for cases of Ralstonia after a cluster of infections with no clear cause was identified.
Tasmania’s Health Department said the state had recorded one confirmed case and four probable cases, none of which had caused any clinical illness.
The department had issued advice to healthcare providers and no disruptions to patient care were expected, a spokesperson said.
No cases have been reported in Victoria or Western Australia.