Australia’s medical watchdog has issued a quarantine notice for saline products which appear to be contaminated with Ralstonia,form of bacterium normally found in soil and water.
Queensland Health has issued an alert over two sodium chloride products,due to a national bacteria outbreak.
Some saline products used at hospitals are being removed from use after the Therapeutic Goods Administration issued an alert,following a bacterial outbreak in NSW.
Scientists in the ACT had identified products from India and Greece as a possible source of contamination,Queensland Health Minister Shannon Fentiman said on Tuesday.
There are 43 suspected cases across the country.
Fentiman expressed her condolences to the family of an elderly patient in Queensland who died at a private hospital after the bacteria was found in his blood.
Australia’s medical watchdog has issued a quarantine notice for saline products which appear to be contaminated.Justin McManus
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 another two confirmed infections and three probable cases in Queensland but they were considered mild.
Three private hospitals in Queensland have been linked to Ralstonia cases.
No cases have been identified in Queensland public hospitals.
Two InterPharma sodium chloride products have reportedly been quarantined for patient care amid fears they are contaminated with Ralstonia.
The identified saline products were in use across seven Queensland Health services and have been removed.
“An investigation has been under way across all the states of Australia to identify the source of the infection,” Gerrard said.
“Microbiologists in the ACT identified the organism in at least one likely source in saline products imported from overseas.
“These products have been removed from Australian public and private hospitals following an alert issued by the Therapeutic Goods Administration on Friday.”
He said a multi-state investigation was still under way to determine whether there were other infection sources.
“I do not want to say ... that all risk has been removed,” he said.
Gerrard said Ralstonia was usually harmless and couldn’t spread from one person to another.
“Ralstonia is a common organism in the environment,” he said.
“It thrives in water. It is commonly identified in rivers,streams and lakes.
“The biggest risk is if a person is injected by some means into the blood with the organism.”
An urgent patient safety alert was issued by Queensland Health on Friday after Ralstonia’s link with previous outbreaks in healthcare settings from contaminated medical fluids.
The bacteria is of particular concern for patients with underlying health conditions and those with implanted medical devices.
Last month NSW Health authorities asked every state to be on the lookout for Ralstonia cases after a cluster of infections were identified,but with no apparent cause.
No cases have been reported in Victoria or Western Australia.
- AAP