Some 100 hospital patients who died since the start of year were found to have been infected with the virulent strain of bacteria that has sparked current concern, but it remains unclear if the bacteria was the cause of death in these cases, Dr. Itamar Shalit, an authority on infectious diseases, said Wednesday.

According to Shalit, the patients involved had been hospitalized for long periods of time, and their health was already compromised at the time of their infection.

Earlier in the day, Health Minister Yaakov Ben Yizri said that the stain bacteria, suspected in the deaths of dozens of patients in recent months, was resistant to all known forms of antibiotiocs, and that efforts were underway to contain it through quarentine and increased sanitation in hospitals.

	Advertisement

Infectious disease expert Dr. Galia Rahav said Tuesday that 130 people have been infected in Sheba Hospital alone, and about a third of them have already died, though many were suffering from prior medical conditions.

The Health Ministry has refrained from issuing official figures on the scope of the epidemic, but the bacterium has been identified as Klebsiella pneumoniae.

"We know that it is possible that this bacteria may have directly caused death" in patients whose health was already compromised by other conditions," Ben Yizri told Israel Radio Wednesday.

At this stage, the concern is concentrated in hospitals in the center of the country, he said. "It is resistant to all forms and kinds of antibiotics known to us at this stage. We are trying to deal with this."

The Health Ministry this week summoned hospital officials for an urgent meeting to discuss treatment.A special staff has also been assembled to coordinate activity between various hospitals.

The program includes an outline for monitoring, isolation of infected patients, hygiene regulations to prevent transmission between patients and training laboratories to identify the bacterium.

The bacterium is part of a group of deadly bacteria that has long been known to researchers.

It is known to cause severe infection, particularly in patients already suffering from an illness, and is among a growing number of bacteria discovered in recent years to be resistant to many antibiotics.

The Health Ministry said Tuesday that "the prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is a worldwide phenomenon... In recent years the number of infectious bacteria resistant to antibiotics has been growing, some of them resistant even to most known antibiotic treatments."

"These bacteria mostly harm patients who have been hospitalized for a long time and have undergone numerous antibiotic treatments," it said.