The King Edward VII Memorial Hospital has isolated one its wards in order to try and halt the spread of a bacteria outbreak which poses a threat to the sickest of patients.

The infectious bacteria was discovered in one of the Gordon Ward patients on Saturday. Since that time, the Gordon Ward has been under strict isolation in an effort to stop the outbreak of Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA).

To date three patients have tested positive for MRSA.

"We are isolating patients to prevent further spread until we finish testing,'' medical programme director Norma Smith told The Royal Gazette .

Until the outbreak is under control, there will be no additional admissions on Gordon, which is a general medical ward.

Infection control nurse Linda Rothwell said that there are normally about 30 patients on that ward. Once the hospital found that one patient had tested positive, all the patients and the staff on the ward had to be tested.

"We swab staff, other patients and others who have had physical contact with patients who are MRSA positive,'' Ms Rockwell said.

All the patients on the ward are now under "strict isolation,'' she added.

Everyone that goes into a patient's room must wear a mask, gown and gloves. Ms Rothwell is asking that visitors to Gordon Ward strictly adhere to the instructions of hospital staff as they try to halt the outbreak.

After the hospital receives test results on other patients and staff -- either today or tomorrow -- staff will make a decision on whether to continue the ward isolation.

Patients tested positive for MRSA must have Batroban ointment applied to their noses twice a day and bathe with antimicrobial soap for one week.

After a week, they stop for two days and are then re-tested, if the test is negative they will be retested again in four days.

"They have to have three sets of negative swabs before they are taken off isolation,'' Ms Rothwell said.

If they have developed an infection due to the bacteria they are also treated with antibiotics.

Last night hospital officials did not know if any of the staff had contracted the bacterium. Ms Rothwell explained that it takes 48 hours to get the test results. She said that if staff members do test positive for the bacteria they are removed from duty until they too test negative to three sets of swab tests.

Ms Rothwell said that MRSA is not a threat to healthy individuals. It is believed to be transmitted by direct contact such as hand to hand.

Hospital ward isolated after infectious bacteria found Staphylococcus Aureus occurs naturally on the human body, Ms Rothwell said. It likes to live in moist warm places of the body, she said, such as the nose, under the arms and the groin area.

"It's a normal body flora which, if it gets inside the body, can cause infection. But this strain has become resistant to the most common antibiotics,'' she said which makes it much more difficult to treat.

A healthy person's immune system can usually tackle even the antibiotic resistant strain but for people already ill, serious infections and pneumonia can result if MRSA gets into their bodies.

For this reason, MRSA is a serious concern for hospitals all over the world, Ms Rothwell explained.

The severity of problems that can arise varies from patient to patient, said Ms Rothwell but it can be life-threatening.

"The sickest patients are more liable to get MRSA,'' she said. But, if the patients dies, it is often difficult to tell whether death occurred due to the MRSA infection or the underlying condition. "They may have died even if they didn't have MRSA,'' she said.

The reason the bacteria was caught is that KEMH is aggressively battling MRSA and screens patients coming from abroad. In a proactive move once the hospital discovers the bacterium it checks if it has spread.

In other places in the world, MRSA has become a serious problem, Ms Rothwell said.

She said the hospital has seen outbreaks before -- "maybe four over the years,'' she said. And it hit the hospital's Cooper Ward last August.

Patients without infections but who are positive to MRSA can be discharged on the provision they take special hand washing precautions.

"Antibiotic resistance should concern all of us,'' said Ms Rockwell. And while the general public is not at risk, hand washing is essential to "try to prevent the spread of MRSA in the community.