The HSE is to contact up to 5,000 patients to inform them they have been exposed to a dangerous and difficult-to-treat superbug.
CPE is an antibiotic-resistant bacteria which is harmless in the gut, but fatal in up to 50% of cases when it gets into the bloodstream.
While most in-patients who came into contact with people who had CPE during their hospital stay won’t have picked up the bug, but up to 10 percent of them will.
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Earlier this month, an outbreak of CPE at University Hospital Limerick led to visiting restrictions being put in place there.
Stephen McMahon of the Irish Patients’ Association says there are questions to answer over how the HSE and its expert group are dealing with the issue:
