Eight patients were isolated at the hospital where the confirmed hantavirus patient had previously been admitted. What irregularities were discovered
Eight patients from the Ștei Hospital for Psychiatry and Safety Measures (Bihor) were isolated, after being identified as contacts of the patient diagnosed with hantavirus. The measure was ordered following the control carried out by the State Sanitary Inspectorate, which discovered several irregularities regarding the observance of sanitary norms and applied fines totaling 5,000 lei.
Ştei Psychiatric Hospital. PHOTO: archive
The eight patients were relocated to an isolated area, organized into core rooms with separate circuits, to prevent the spread of infection among other patients and medical staff. They will remain under surveillance and in quarantine for 21 days, according to a statement sent on Monday by the Ministry of Health.
“Following the control carried out by the State Sanitary Inspection at the Ştei Hospital for Psychiatry and Safety Measures, as a result of the confirmation of a case of hantavirus infection, measures were ordered to prevent the spread of the infection and to remedy the non-conformities identified within the health unit”, the Ministry of Health sent.
What problems were found at the Ștei Psychiatric Hospital
The inspectors found deficiencies in the rodent control activity, which is why the sanitary unit was fined 2,000 lei.
The intervention documents lacked essential information, such as the batch of the product used and the biocidal approval, aspects that do not allow the certification of the effectiveness of measures against rodents. At the same time, the authorities also started checks at the company responsible for extermination.
Other irregularities were identified in the hospital's food block, where inspectors discovered unsanitized surfaces and improper storage conditions. For these violations, the hospital was fined 3,000 lei.
Also, the control revealed exceeding the approved capacity of the unit, as 319 patients were hospitalized, compared to the 314 authorized functional beds, a situation that affects the maintenance of the appropriate sanitary circuits.
As a result of the detected irregularities, the hospital management was forced to implement an urgent compliance plan, which includes the remedy of hygiene problems in the food block and the restoration of rodent control procedures, under the strict monitoring of the State Sanitary Inspection.
The Cantacuzino Institute confirms the hantavirus case in Arad
The Cantacuzino Institute confirmed on Monday that the man hospitalized at the Arad County Emergency Clinical Hospital is infected with a strain of hantavirus associated with rodents, which is not transmitted from human to human. The young man had been discharged from the Ștei Psychiatric Hospital on May 6, two days before arriving at the hospital in Arad, presenting flu-like symptoms. During this interval, he lived alone in a family home, in precarious conditions.
The first suspicions regarding hantavirus infection appeared on Friday, May 15, when sources from the Arada hospital announced that the patient, hospitalized on May 8 with a fever, tested positive following a PCR analysis, additional investigations being necessary for the exact identification of the strain. “The Truth” reported extensively on this case, more details can be read here.
