Campaigners have warned the NHS over ward hygiene following the rise of a new hospital superbug.
Borsa – borderline oxacillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus – is a potentially fatal bacterium similar to MRSA.
It appears resistant to an antibiotic used to treat a range of conditions, including bone, joint and heart infections, meningitis, pneumonia and blood poisoning.
Despite the number of cases being relatively low, campaigners have warned the emergence of a new strain must be taken
seriously.
Coilin Nunan, scientific adviser to the campaign group Alliance to Save Our Antibiotics, said: “It’s important to remain vigilant and to try to establish where this might be coming from.”
The spike in cases of the bug was revealed in a new report to NHS Borders.
Lab analysis confirmed eight cases from January to March – as many as in the whole of 2018.
An NHS Borders spokesman said: “Borsa has not been linked to any patient deaths. We continue to follow standard cleanliness procedures to maintain good hygiene.”
