A private children's party on a bouncy castle in Ireland turned into a mass infection with an antibiotic-resistant bacterium: doctors recorded 22 confirmed and 26 probable cases among children and adolescents, reports infohub.kz.
According to Gizmodo, the Staphylococcus aureus outbreak occurred in the eastern part of the country. Four children were hospitalized, but no deaths were reported. All those affected spent several hours on the inflatable attraction, which became the main source of bacterial spread.
Researchers in the journal Eurosurveillance noted that this is the largest community-acquired MRSA outbreak in the country's history. The infection was accompanied by skin rashes, blisters, as well as high fever and nausea. The spread of the superinfection was facilitated by warm, humid weather and prolonged physical contact among children in the confined space of the attraction.
The health service contained the outbreak through contact tracing and temporary isolation of those infected. Bouncy castle rental companies were instructed to carry out full sanitization of their equipment. Experts warn that superinfections are increasingly spreading beyond hospitals, requiring high levels of disinfection at children's events.