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This report shows the occurrence of resistant bacteria and fungi with particular importance for infection control in the Norwegian health service in 2023. The figures are taken from the notification system for infectious diseases (MSIS).
Main message
Figures from the Reporting System for Infectious Diseases (MSIS) show an increasing number of people in Norway who are infected with resistant bacteria and fungi which are of particular importance for infection control in the health service. People reported as carriers or infected with carbapenemase-producing bacteria (CPO) have increased by 39% compared to 2022. This is the most worrying change because CPO are bacteria that can cause serious infections, but where we have very limited, sometimes no, effective antibiotics like
works. The increase is probably due to a combination of foreign travel and migration to Norway from countries with a high incidence of CPO, as this type of resistant bacteria increases in Europe and other parts of the world. Medical evacuation of patients from Ukraine to Norwegian hospitals as a result of the war has also contributed.
There has also been an increase in the number of people with other types of resistant bacteria in the past year, both methicillin-resistant staphylococci yellow (MRSA) and enterococci resistant to vancomycin (VRE) or linezolid (LRE).
Summary
This report shows the occurrence of resistant bacteria and fungi with particular importance for infection control in the Norwegian health service. The figures are taken from the notification system for infectious diseases (MSIS).
- The occurrence of carbapenemase-producing bacteria (CPO) has increased markedly in the last two years. In 2023, 251 people with infection or carriage of CPO were reported to MSIS, compared to 180 people in 2022, and 68 people in 2021. Since 2022, there has been an increase of 39%. This increase is probably due to a combination of foreign travel and migration to Norway from countries with a high incidence of CPO. Medical evacuation of patients from Ukraine to Norwegian hospitals as a result of the war has also contributed. Most bacterial isolates (83%) were carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (CPE), mainly Klebsiella pneumonia and E. coli. For CPE, there was an increase in the number of people of 50% compared to 2022. Of those reported with CPE infection, few people (8%) had bloodstream infections.
- The number of people reported with MRSA in Norway was 2,545 in 2023, an increase of 25% compared to 2022 (2,008 people). In the years after the corona pandemic, there has been an increase in the number of people with MRSA, which is probably related to increasing trips abroad and migration to Norway. There are still few of those who get infections with MRSA who get bloodstream infections (2.6%).
- A total of 151 people were reported with resistant enterococci in 2023. This was an increase of 41% from the previous year, but lower than in the years before the corona pandemic. The incidence of resistant enterococci has varied from year to year due to outbreaks. Most (57%) were vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE), while 63 (42%) were linezolid-resistant enterococci (LRE). In the past there have been few people with LRE in Norway, but from 2022 to 2023 there has been a worrying increase of 90% in the number of people reported with LRE, with the majority (58%) reported as probably infected in Norway.
- The number of people reported with Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) in Norway was 3,099 in 2023. The incidence of CDI has been relatively stable over the past three years.
- Carriership and infections with the yeast Candida auris are still rare in Norway. A total of 6 people with C. auris were reported to MSIS in 2023, all of whom were thought to have been infected abroad.
Tags: Occurrence resistant bacteria fungi importance infection control Norwegian health service annual report
