Lakeshore Hospital wards shut down after bug breakout

Lakeshore General Hospital in Montreal has shut down three wards after an outbreak of vancomycin-resistant enterococcus, which can be a serious infection for some people.

Hospital officials said as of Monday night at least 10 people were infected, but no one's life is in danger.

"We believe right now that we have the situation under control," said Louis Pascal Cyr, a Lakeshore spokesman. "The important thing is to be sure who has, and who doesn't have the VRE."

The infected patients are under quarantine and about 200 others are being tested as a precaution, hospital officials said.

Enterococciare normallypresent in people's intestinal tracts and are generallynot very harmful or virulent. But it can be a serious problem when the bacteria infect the urinary tract, surgical wounds or the bloodstreamof hospitalized patients.

Vancomycin resistant enterococcus is a strain that has become resistant to the antibiotic vancomycin.

While patients with serious underlying illnesses can be threatened by the infection, people in good health are generally not in danger of becoming infected. They could, however, spread the bacteria.

Until further notice, hospital visitors must don gowns and wash their hands before entering the building, Cyr said.