The Sault Area Hospital and Algoma Public Health declared an outbreak of a difficult-to-treat bacterial infection on the hospital’s Complex Care Unit on July 2, 2026. The outbreak involves Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, a germ that does not respond to common antibiotics.
Hospital officials say the declaration follows provincial rules and means that visiting on the 2C unit is now limited to Essential Caregivers only. Those caregivers must wear personal protective equipment (PPE) in rooms where extra precautions are in place, and everyone must follow hand hygiene practices.
MRSA spreads through skin contact or from touching items that have the germ on them, such as medical equipment. It is most dangerous for hospital patients whose immune systems are already weak. According to Public Health Ontario, the bacterium is a staph germ that has become resistant to antibiotic treatment.
Before the outbreak was declared, the hospital reported 3 hospital-linked MRSA cases in May 2026. That works out to a rate of 0.32 cases per 1,000 patient days. In the last three months of the 2025/2026 fiscal year, there was one case of MRSA in the bloodstream.
Ontario’s Institutional/Facility Outbreak Management Protocol allows either the hospital or the Medical Officer of Health to declare an outbreak. Algoma Public Health, led by Medical Officer of Health Dr. Jennifer Loo, worked with the hospital on the decision.
The hospital is asking families and visitors to pay close attention to signs on the unit and to follow all instructions from staff. No further details about the number of current cases have been released.
