Snowy Owl
Retired in 2010, In Memoriam
Nine people dead in a Quebec hospital after outbreak of C. difficile
http://www.cbc.ca/cp/health/061027/x102708.html
http://www.cbc.ca/cp/health/061027/x102708.html
Canadian Press: JONATHAN MONTPETIT
<!--end of storyhead--> <!--updated p--> <!--updated para--> <!-- CPPara1--> MONTREAL (CP) - Nine people have died in a Quebec hospital in recent months from what doctors worry is a new and more powerful strain of C. difficile, sparking fears of another deadly outbreak.
<!-- CPPara1End--> <!--updated p--> <!--updated para--> <!-- CPPara2-->Since late July, health officials have identified a total of 22 Clostridium difficile cases at Honore-Mercier Hospital in St-Hyacinthe, about 60 kilometres southeast of Montreal. "We have, in effect, decided to decontaminate 50 per cent of the hospital," its director general, Denis Blanchard, said in an interview Friday.
<!-- CPPara2End--> <!--updated p--> <!--updated para--> <!-- CPPara3--> He said the cleanup would include the hospital's emergency room and intensive care units.
<!-- CPPara3End--> <!--start of p-->Blanchard declined to give details about the victims, but said most were older than 60.
<!--start of p-->A hypervirulent strain of C. difficile was blamed for roughly 2,000 deaths in Quebec between 2003 and 2004. Similar outbreaks have occurred in Britain and the United States.
<!--start of p-->Doctors at the hospital are at a loss to explain what caused the recent outbreak, but they are concerned it is an alternative strain from others found in Quebec hospitals in the past.
<!--start of p-->Blanchard said the hospital originally put in place conventional measures when it noticed a higher incident rate of C. difficile in the summer.
<!--start of p-->"In September we realized the measures put in place weren't meeting the objectives," he said. "There were more consequences in terms of health problems, and consequently more deaths."
<!--start of p-->Several "extraordinary" measures have since been instituted to deal with the tougher strain.
<!--start of p-->"We have centralized the disinfection of the instruments and the equipment used in the wards where patients were infected," Blanchard said.
<!--start of p-->The hospital is also isolating any patients who display symptoms of the bacteria, while limiting the number of visitors other patients are allowed to see.
<!--start of p-->Quebec's health minister praised how the hospital responded to the outbreak.
<!--start of p-->"Even if the events are tragic, I find the institution reacted very well," Philippe Couillard told all-news channel LCN.
<!--start of p-->The hospital suspects the outbreak may have originated with a patient who was already contaminated and entered the hospital though the ER or internal admissions.
<!--start of p-->C. difficile is commonly found in older hospital patients taking antibiotics, and is transmitted by physical contact with the bacteria.
<!--start of p-->Antibiotics are thought to make certain patients more susceptible to C. difficile because they introduce higher levels of bacteria into the body.
<!--start of p-->The news comes just one week after the province's efforts fighting the bacteria were heralded at an international infectious-diseases conference in Toronto.
<!--start of p-->Experts there lauded an aggressive campaign in Quebec hospitals to cut overall antibiotic use and improve infection-control measures such as improving hand hygiene.
<!--start of p-->Dr. Andre Dascal, a C. difficile expert with McGill University's department of microbiology and immunology, said there is nothing inherently alarming about this recent outbreak.
<!--start of p-->"C. difficile has existed in hospitals forever," he said. "The fact that you can get rid of it for a while and somehow it reappears is not surprising."
<!--start of p-->But Dascal added there have been reports of C. difficile incidents outside hospitals, in people not commonly thought to be at risk.
<!--start of p-->"That... is of major importance because if it's in the community already then this notion that just managing it in the hospital may not be enough."
<!--start of p-->Couillard said public health officials will monitor the situation closely.
<!--start of p-->"The question of C. difficile infections remains a constant priority even if the number of cases has greatly decreased in the past two years," he said. "It's a threat that will always be with us."
<!--start of p-->In susceptible people, C. difficile causes nasty, recurrent and hard-to-treat diarrhea. Severe cases can cause destruction of the colon and lead to death.
<center>? The Canadian Press, 2006</center>
<!--end of storyhead--> <!--updated p--> <!--updated para--> <!-- CPPara1--> MONTREAL (CP) - Nine people have died in a Quebec hospital in recent months from what doctors worry is a new and more powerful strain of C. difficile, sparking fears of another deadly outbreak.
<!-- CPPara1End--> <!--updated p--> <!--updated para--> <!-- CPPara2-->Since late July, health officials have identified a total of 22 Clostridium difficile cases at Honore-Mercier Hospital in St-Hyacinthe, about 60 kilometres southeast of Montreal. "We have, in effect, decided to decontaminate 50 per cent of the hospital," its director general, Denis Blanchard, said in an interview Friday.
<!-- CPPara2End--> <!--updated p--> <!--updated para--> <!-- CPPara3--> He said the cleanup would include the hospital's emergency room and intensive care units.
<!-- CPPara3End--> <!--start of p-->Blanchard declined to give details about the victims, but said most were older than 60.
<!--start of p-->A hypervirulent strain of C. difficile was blamed for roughly 2,000 deaths in Quebec between 2003 and 2004. Similar outbreaks have occurred in Britain and the United States.
<!--start of p-->Doctors at the hospital are at a loss to explain what caused the recent outbreak, but they are concerned it is an alternative strain from others found in Quebec hospitals in the past.
<!--start of p-->Blanchard said the hospital originally put in place conventional measures when it noticed a higher incident rate of C. difficile in the summer.
<!--start of p-->"In September we realized the measures put in place weren't meeting the objectives," he said. "There were more consequences in terms of health problems, and consequently more deaths."
<!--start of p-->Several "extraordinary" measures have since been instituted to deal with the tougher strain.
<!--start of p-->"We have centralized the disinfection of the instruments and the equipment used in the wards where patients were infected," Blanchard said.
<!--start of p-->The hospital is also isolating any patients who display symptoms of the bacteria, while limiting the number of visitors other patients are allowed to see.
<!--start of p-->Quebec's health minister praised how the hospital responded to the outbreak.
<!--start of p-->"Even if the events are tragic, I find the institution reacted very well," Philippe Couillard told all-news channel LCN.
<!--start of p-->The hospital suspects the outbreak may have originated with a patient who was already contaminated and entered the hospital though the ER or internal admissions.
<!--start of p-->C. difficile is commonly found in older hospital patients taking antibiotics, and is transmitted by physical contact with the bacteria.
<!--start of p-->Antibiotics are thought to make certain patients more susceptible to C. difficile because they introduce higher levels of bacteria into the body.
<!--start of p-->The news comes just one week after the province's efforts fighting the bacteria were heralded at an international infectious-diseases conference in Toronto.
<!--start of p-->Experts there lauded an aggressive campaign in Quebec hospitals to cut overall antibiotic use and improve infection-control measures such as improving hand hygiene.
<!--start of p-->Dr. Andre Dascal, a C. difficile expert with McGill University's department of microbiology and immunology, said there is nothing inherently alarming about this recent outbreak.
<!--start of p-->"C. difficile has existed in hospitals forever," he said. "The fact that you can get rid of it for a while and somehow it reappears is not surprising."
<!--start of p-->But Dascal added there have been reports of C. difficile incidents outside hospitals, in people not commonly thought to be at risk.
<!--start of p-->"That... is of major importance because if it's in the community already then this notion that just managing it in the hospital may not be enough."
<!--start of p-->Couillard said public health officials will monitor the situation closely.
<!--start of p-->"The question of C. difficile infections remains a constant priority even if the number of cases has greatly decreased in the past two years," he said. "It's a threat that will always be with us."
<!--start of p-->In susceptible people, C. difficile causes nasty, recurrent and hard-to-treat diarrhea. Severe cases can cause destruction of the colon and lead to death.
<center>? The Canadian Press, 2006</center>