Anton McNultyA CLARE Island man who died in an Achill nursing home a few hours after an outbreak of the winter vomiting bug also had pneumonia which was the primary cause of his death.
The inquest into the death of Michael James Moran (89) of Faunglass, Clare Island heard that an outbreak of vomiting and diarrhoea broke out in St Fionnan’s Nursing Home in Achill on May 7 last. The reason for the outbreak was not known for 72 hours and it affected eleven residents and five members of staff.
At the time it was feared that food poisoning was the cause of the outbreak and a management team involving relevant agencies was put in place. A number of precautions were put in place to stop the spread of the outbreak before it was eventually discovered that it was caused by the wintering vomiting bug or ‘Norovirus’, after a patient vomited in a dining area when most of the affected people were present.
Mr Moran was the only person to die during the outbreak at 1.15am on May 8 having only become ill on the previous evening at approximately 7pm. Dr Paddy Lineen told the inquest that Mr Moran had vomited profusely and had diarrhoea and formed the opinion that he had gasteroenteritis. He gave him medication to prevent or reduce vomiting and also gave him an antibiotic.
Dr Lineen said he returned to the unit at 11.30pm and said his condition had deteriorated significantly and his blood pressure had dropped considerably. Dr Lineen said he was seriously ill but felt removing him to Mayo General Hospital would make things worse and nothing would be gained from it.
A statement by Dr Regina Kieran, a Consultant in Public Health Medicine with HSE West, said that following an investigation, it became apparent that a resident who had vomited in the dining room had been a patient in the Bon Secours Hospital in Galway from May 1 to May 4. However, she said there had not been an outbreak of acute gastroenteritis in the Bon Secours Hospital during the resident’s stay or in the days preceding her stay. She said that infection control measures were effective in ending the outbreak and the cause was due to norovirus infection but the initial source was not known.
Dr Fadel Bennani, Consultant Pathologist said that multiple specimens sent for microbiology at University Hospital College Galway had proved negative for E-coli 0157, which he said could be lethal for healthy people. He said it was positive for Norovirus and lung swabs were positive for coliform.
He said it appeared that Mr Moran suffered from two separate diseases, one of which was fatal lobar pneumonia caused by coliform and non-fatal diarrheal illness caused by Norovirus. He said that in his opinion the cause of death was due to lobar pneumonia.
Mr John O’Dwyer, Coroner for south Mayo recorded a verdict of death from natural causes and felt Dr Lineen made the right call to let Mr Moran die in comfort rather than transfer him to Mayo General Hospital. He extended his sympathies to Mr Moran’s family.
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