New superbug infection found every 18 minutes in Hong Kong public hospitals

Hospital Authority statistics showed that Hong Kong Public hospitals reported a new case of superbug infection every 18 minutes last year, according to an article on the South China Morning Post website.

The statistics showed an overall 15 percent increase in three major types of superbug infection from 2011.

They underlined the threat from superbugs, which was branded a "global emergency" in a World Health Organization report recently, the article said.

Hong Kong University microbiologist Dr Ho Pak-leung — who presented the figures at the Centre for Health Protection's annual hand hygiene campaign launch — said the alarming speed at which superbugs spread at public hospitals was a serious concern, particularly in view of the city's ageing population.

Read the article.