Media Statement

Update NDM-1 (Wednesday, 19 October 2011, 11:00)

The situation is the same as yesterday – 18 OCTOBER 2011:

Three patients with confirmed NDM-1 are currently still being treated at the Life The Glynnwood hospital in Benoni in strict isolation.

Press release update - 18 October 2011

Outbreak of New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase 1 (NDM-1) identified in Gauteng

Three patients with confirmed NDM-1 are currently still being treated at the Life The Glynnwood hospital in Benoni . This includes the 10th patient with confirmed NDM-1. This patient was already treated in strict isolation last week as a precautionary measure while the hospital awaited the test results, which became available on Friday night. Four of the confirmed NDM-1 patients have already been discharged.

One of the three patients who were being treated in hospital last week has since passed away. This patient had been admitted to hospital some weeks earlier in a critical condition, and NDM-1 cannot be singled out as the cause of death.

The management and staff are continuing to work closely with local infectious disease experts, microbiologists and specialists at the hospital and have implemented the necessary measures – based on international and national guidelines – to prevent the spread of the bacteria in the hospital. As a further precautionary measure, all new patients who are admitted to the ICUs or high care unit are being tested for NDM-1 so that any patients coming in to hospital with the bacteria will be identified early and treated accordingly.