Rare MRSA superbug spreads among children after bouncy-castle party in Dublin
A rare MRSA strain infected dozens of children after they played on bouncy castles in a Dublin suburb, creating the largest recorded outbreak of its kind in Ireland.
Medical investigators reported that 48 children and adolescents, aged five to 16, contracted a rare, aggressive MRSA strain after a social event on three bouncy castles in a Dublin-area suburb last autumn. Fifteen required hospital treatment and four were admitted for an average stay of four days, receiving antibiotics, antiseptic body washes and nasal ointments. The humid, warm, showery weather and prolonged, rough-and-tumble play created a high-attack environment, a mechanism not previously described in scientific literature.
An outbreak control team comprising the HSE, the National MRSA Reference Laboratory and Children’s Health Ireland at Crumlin traced cases, contacted families and provided risk assessments. A local primary school attended by many of the victims received infection-prevention advice. The findings were published in the journal Eurosurveillance, emphasizing the unusually high attack rate and short incubation period of this community-acquired superbug outbreak.
Why it matters
It shows how common recreational activities can trigger large community outbreaks of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
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