Outbreak of vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) infection

18 Apr 2005

Question No:  13  

Question

Name of the Person: Dr Tan Sze Wee, Nominated Member of Parliament

To ask the Minister for Health, in view of the recent outbreak of vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) infection, how many persons now have VRE and what is the breakdown of these in terms of (i) symptomatic patients and asymptomatic carriers (ii) immunocompromised patients (ie diabetic, renal failure, hematology and oncology patients) and non-immunocompromised patients and (iii) bed class status.

Question No:  14  

Name of the Person: Dr Tan Sze Wee, Nominated Member of Parliament

To ask the Minister for Health, in view of the reported deaths of four patients in the Singapore General Hospital, whether vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) is a contributing cause of these deaths and, if not, was there any other infection that was present in these patients.

Reply

Reply From MOH

As at 14 April 2005, 88 patients have been found to have Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci (VRE). Of these, only 3 have symptomatic clinical infection while 85 have asymptomatic colonization. 

Of the 88 patients with VRE, 78 can be classified as "immunocompromised" (i.e. diabetic, renal failure, haematological or oncology patients) while 10 are not. 

The distribution of the patients by ward class is as follows: Class B1 - 2 Class B2 - 25 Class C - 61 

Seven patients found to have VRE have died but none of the deaths are related to VRE. They all were elderly and had multiple chronic medical conditions. Two died from acute myocardial infarction, three of pneumonia and two of septicaemia from different bacterial infections.