Drug-resistant infections double at Schweitzer Hospital

The number of people infected with the drug-resistant VRE bacteria in the Albert Schweitzer hospital in Dordrecht has almost doubled from last week, reports Het Parool. The hospital called on 1200 people to get tested for the bacteria because of the outbreak. Last week, the test sample consisted of 900 individuals. The testing concerned those who were admitted to the hospital, and those who were in contact with its patients. Most people infected with the bacterium were not feeling sick, the newspaper said. The bacterium is harmless to healthy people, but it may effect those whose immune system is for some reason debilitated. In the worst case scenario, the infection may lead to death. Typically, the bacterium is fought off by the body's immune system over a period of time. "We cannot yet say when we expect the turning point to be when the number of new cases will decline in proportion to the people tested," a spokesman for the hospital said. The risk of spread with the hospital is now categorized as "minimal" because of the isolated environment created for those infected with the bacteria.