National Public Health Emergency Team welcomed the publication of the CPE surveillance report at their meeting today
The National Public Health Emergency Team on Carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE) held their twelfth meeting today, 08th February 2018.
Items discussed included publication of the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) CPE surveillance report, the latest figures from the National CPE Reference Laboratory and an update on HSE communications plans.
The National Public Health Emergency Team welcomed the publication of the HPSC CPE surveillance report on 07 February. Data showed that the number of patients with newly confirmed CPE increased to 435 in 2017 from 282 in 2016. There were 15 invasive CPE infections notified in 2017 in comparison to 14 in 2016. The number of reported CPE outbreak events was 15 in 2017 in comparison to five in 2016. The report also included data on the number of CPE screens performed by acute hospitals and quantity of meropenem dispensed. The full report is available on the HPSC website and will be published on a monthly basis going forward.
The latest figures from the National CPE Reference Laboratory were presented to the group. In the two-week period from 22nd January to 4th February 2018 a total of six new patients with CPE were detected
The HSE provided an update on their strategic communications programme of work in relation to healthcare-associated infections (HCAI) and antimicrobial resistance (AMR). This includes the Under the Weather information campaign and a central repository of information for the public and healthcare workers on a dedicated section of their website www.hse.ie/hcai.
The minutes of all previous meetings and related documents are published on the dedicated webpage, hosted on the Department of Health website.
