SINGAPORE — Since the middle of this year, the Ministry of Health (MOH) has asked hospitals here to work on reducing the rate of patients getting infected by Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA), an antibiotic-resistant “superbug” that can be spread through touch.

The ministry said this in response to TODAY’s questions about a doctor’s finding that despite local hospitals stepping up infection-control measures to control the spread of superbugs since 2008, the rate of patients contracting MRSA in local hospitals remains higher than in Australia, the United States and Northern Europe.

Dr Hsu Li Yang, an infectious disease physician at the ID Clinic in Mount Elizabeth Novena Specialist Centre, said at a press conference on Oct 19 that 30 per cent of people are carriers of Staphylococcus Aureus, a common bacteria found on the skin or nose, said Dr Hsu. An infection occurs when the bacteria penetrates the skin into the flesh or blood, and can lead to skin infections, pneumonia or bloodstream infections.

In response to TODAY’s query, MOH said it has “required hospitals to accord priority in reducing the MRSA acquisition rate in their institutions” from mid of this year, and is “working with the institutions to monitor these rates very closely”.

Asked about tracking the prevalence of the Staphylococcus Aureus bacteria, MOH said it only tracks MRSA bacteraemia, or blood infections due to MRSA. “It can be difficult to determine whether the patient was already harbouring the infection, or had acquired it as a result of a healthcare encounter. Instead, MOH tracks MRSA bacteraemia, which has been noted to be a more useful proxy indicator for significant MRSA infections,” said a spokesperson.

Figures provided by the ministry show that MRSA bacteraemia has been stable at around 0.89 cases per 10,000 patient days since 2011 to 2014.

“All restructured hospitals have in-house programmes on hand hygiene, environmental cleaning and contact precaution for MRSA patients. All the efforts are to reduce the chance of non-MRSA patients acquiring MRSA during their hospital stay,” MOH added.

According to Dr Hsu, who did a study examining bacterial samples from 1982 to 2010, three major strains of MRSA can be found in Singapore. One of them has been around as early as the 1980s while the other two newer strains came in the 2000s and 2010.

Majority of MRSA cases in Singapore occur in hospitals when doctors, nurses, visitors and patients do not wash their hands after coming into contact with an infected person.

Public hospitals TODAY contacted said they have implemented measures to minimise this risk, such as ensuring proper hygiene practices and screening patients upon admission for the superbug. For instance, alcohol-based hand-rub is placed at the foot of patients’ beds and along the hospital corridors to make hand-hygiene easy and accessible, said Professor Dale Fisher, head and senior consultant at National University Hospital’s Division of Infectious Diseases. Besides thorough disinfection of isolation rooms and equipment, he added that the hospital also provides leaflets to patients on how to protect themselves against MRSA.

Associate Professor Thoon Koh Cheng, chairman of the Hospital Infection Control Committee at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, said in addition to hygiene measures, the hospital prescribes antibiotic prescriptions only when necessary.

On its screening process, a Changi General Hospital spokesperson said: “Patients found to have MRSA are cohorted in specific areas or wards to prevent cross-infection. Where clinically appropriate, they are also further treated with daily anti-bacterial body baths and nasal ointments ... Additionally, the wards undergo rigorous and thorough environmental cleaning throughout the day.”

Dr Leong Hoe Nam, an infectious disease physician at Rophi Clinic in Mount Elizabeth Novena Specialist Centre who also spoke at the press conference, advocated for a multi-pronged approach when it comes to controlling the spread of superbugs like MRSA.

While infection-control measures and judicious prescription of antibiotics can help to bring down infection rates, he said there is also a need for better antibiotics to combat MRSA.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story reported that MRSA bacteraemia has been stable at around 0.89 cases per 1,000 patient days since 2011 to 2014. This is incorrect. MOH has clarified that the figure should be 0.89 cases per 10,000 patient days.