The residents and staff at a Danish nursing home unit have been tested for the MRSA bacteria. The test results from the Department of Clinical Microbiology at Odense University Hospital show that the residents and staff are all free from the resistant bacteria.
Odense Municipality just received this message from the Department of Clinical Microbiology at Odense University Hospital. None of the residents or staff at the nursing home unit who were recently tested for MRSA are infected with or carriers of the resistant bacteria.
”I am of course very happy with the results,” says general manager Helene Bækmark, who says quite openly that it has been an extraordinary situation for both the residents and staff; at the same time, she offers her condolences to the family who lost a dear family member in April. The death was associated with the MRSA bacteria.
The thorough investigation of the nursing home unit was initiated by Odense Municipality in cooperation with the Danish Health and Medicines Authority after the MRSA bacteria were found in the nursing home.
Back to everyday life
As the investigation showed that none of the present residents or staff at the relevant unit are infected nor healthy carriers of the bacteria, no further actions will be taken at the nursing home. Henrik L. Hansen, Head of Public Health Medical Officers South, explains:
”After the incidence of MRSA in this nursing home, we have taken the necessary precautions. The investigation has now shown that neither the residents nor the staff at the unit are carriers of the bacteria; so there is no basis for initiating additional measures.”