Home page

Text size

E-mail this page

IQALUIT - An antibiotic-resistant bacteria and a respiratory virus continue to challenge public health officials in Nunavut.

The spread of community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is compounded in homes shared by large families, particularly those that don't have a constant source of water.

Dr. Isaac Sobol, chief medical officer for Nunavut, estimates there have been a few hundred cases of community MRSA since the end of 2006, when an outbreak of the bacterial infection was first discovered in the territory.

The bacteria is transmitted through contact with the skin of an infected person or any material they have used, such as sheets and towels.

"Of course, in Nunavut, we have overcrowded homes,"said Sobol. "No one has had an effective intervention anywhere once this disease gets into a community."

Likewise, RSV can quickly spread among families in close quarters, where maintaining the standard of hygiene necessary to prevent transmission can be difficult.

For premature infants or those with heart conditions, the virus can be life-threatening.

"What's special about this virus is that it causes a lot of secretion in the airway,"he said. "When you're a tiny baby ... your airway gets clogged quite fast. They can't get enough air into their lungs to oxygenate the blood."

Antibiotics won't help with MRSA and there is no vaccine for the respiratory virus.

Nonetheless, Sobol said some people expect to receive the drugs when they get sick and feel their health is being neglected if they aren't prescribed.

"It's not that the nurses don't care," said Sobol. "A lot of sicknesses are caused by viruses and antibiotics won't help."