Two wards consisting of 17 beds are have been closed in St Luke's Hospital in Kilkenny to contain a superbug.
A small contained outbreak was reported on the 26th of January and full control precautions have been put in place.
There is currently a small contained outbreak of CRE in St Luke's Hospital Surgical 2 ward.
Infection control staff are working with the relevant ward staff in relation to all precautions to prevent the spread of infection.
A total of four inpatients have tested positive for CRE in St Luke's Hospital.
No other hospitals within the Ireland East Hospital Group have reported cases of CRE in their hospital.
Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE), are a family of germs that are difficult to treat because they have high levels of resistance to antibiotics.
Healthy people usually do not get CRE infections - they usually happen to patients in hospitals, nursing homes, and other healthcare settings.
Full infection control precautions have been put in place in line with the HPSC Guidelines for the Prevention and Control of Multi-drug resistant organisms (MDRO) excluding MRSA in the healthcare setting.
