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RGH Says It Treated Some Patients Who Had Flesh Eating Bacteria

Rochester General Hospital officials say they recently treated some patients with necrotizing fasciitis, sometimes referred to as flesh eating bacteria. Due to privacy regulations, the hospital cannot talk about specific patient information, but officials say none of the cases have been contracted within the hospital.

Dr. Ed Walsh, who is Chief of Infectious Disease at the hospital, says that they believe there is minimal risk of anyone at the hospital contracting the disease.

He says RGH staff is working collaboratively with the state and local health departments to determine if the cases are linked in any way, or linked to other possible cases in the community.

RGH issued a statement which said in part that  “Our top priority is always the health and well-being of our patients, their families, employees and the community.  Each employee takes that responsibility very seriously.  Rochester Regional has comprehensive protection and isolation precaution measures in place to minimize the risk of transmission of infectious disease to patients, employees and the community at large.  These very effective, standard best practices are used in our hospitals and throughout the system.

Necrotizing fasciitis develops from invasive group A strep, and a spokesman for the Monroe County Health Department is quoted as saying that the number of invasive group A strep cases in the county has been higher than usual so far this year.

Randy Gorbman is WXXI's director of news and public affairs. Randy manages the day-to-day operations of WXXI News on radio, television, and online.