Health
1News

Highly unusual antibiotic resistant bug discovered at Auckland's Middlemore Hospital

Three patients have caught the bug, first detected in December.

The discovery of a highly unusual bug resistant to many antibiotics has forced the national burns centre at Auckland's Middlemore Hospital to limit admissions.

There have been three patients infected with the bug, first detected in December, with the third case identified on Saturday.

The organism is believed to have come from overseas, and can give vulnerable patients severe infections.

"The skin loss to infection is large anyway so they (burns victims) often do have a lot of infection as part of their course of illness during part of their healing," Middlemore Hospital acting chief medical officer Vanessa Thornton said.

"These ones have this particular organism which is more resistant to antibiotics and that's the concern."

While there's a low chance visitors and most patients will become infected, regional centres will now take on extra burns victims.

SHARE ME

More Stories