Record numbers diagnosed with potentially fatal CPE superbug in September

A record number of hospital patients were diagnosed with the potentially fatal CPE superbug in September, according to the latest official figures.
Carbapenemase-producing enterobacterales (CPE) is generally regarded as the most dangerous superbug because it is resistant to almost all antibiotics.
A total of 192 new CPE patients were identified in September, the highest level of monthly detections since surveillance started in 2017, according to the Health Protection Surveillance Centre.
However, data was missing for two hospitals, which the health surveillance centre said “may result in underreporting of CPE cases and surveillance samples”.
The number of new cases of the superbug detected has increased over the past three quarters, according to the health surveillance centre. There have been 1,192 new cases this year so far, up more than 50 per cent on the number during the same period last year (776).
There were 13 outbreaks in Irish hospitals last September: Mullingar University Hospital; St Vincent’s University Hospital; Beaumont Hospital; Cavan General Hospital; Galway University Hospital; Letterkenny University Hospital; Portiuncula University Hospital; Roscommon University Hospital; Sligo University Hospital; Cork University Hospital; Tipperary University Hospital; University Hospital Waterford; and University Hospital Limerick.
[ What is the CPE superbug that is present in Irish hospitals?Opens in new window ]
CPE is spread person-to-person or through contact with contaminated surfaces and is very difficult to eliminate from a health setting once found there.
It lives harmlessly in the gut of healthy people but can be lethal if it gets into the bloodstream or urine. CPE poses a particular risk to older people and those with reduced immune system function.
Scott Walkin, the Irish College of GPs/Health Service Executive clinical lead for infection control, said the problem with CPE is it is “much more common” in people with other medical problems.
“It’s a bit like a child going into the zoo and looking into the lion enclosure. If the lion stays in the enclosure it’s fine. But if that same lion is in the cafe, that can cause a problem. That’s the same as CPE being in the gut or getting into other places where it can cause a lot of difficulty,” he said.
[ Record number of CPE superbug cases detected in Irish hospitals last monthOpens in new window ]
Dr Walkin said there are deaths associated with the superbug, with bloodstream infections of CPE having a “relatively high mortality rate”.
The latest figures come during World Antimicrobial Awareness Week, which is organised annually by the World Health Organisation.
Eimear Brannigan, HSE national clinical Lead for antimicrobial resistance and infection control, said “because of [inappropriate] antibiotic use, many bacteria have adapted so that antibiotics no longer work as well as they did 20 years ago”.
Dr Walkin added: “The important message is to protect people who have severe infection and who need antibiotics to save their life. We need to avoid the use of antibiotics when they’re not necessary or when they won’t work.”