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Thursday, August 5, 2010

London : Victoria Hospital battling bug

Via LFPress :

" Victoria Hospital in London is battling an outbreak of a dangerous bug, the antibiotic-resistant C. difficile bacteria.

The hospital issued a public notification of the outbreak Wednesday, reporting the number of cases had peaked at 20 in July.

“We take it very seriously when patients get C. difficile,” said Mary Lou Card, manager of infection prevention and control at London Health Sciences Centre.

The most common cause of infectious diarrhea in hospitals and long-term care homes, C. difficile can damage the bowels.

In some severe cases, surgery may be needed. In extreme cases, death can result.
The bacteria often thrive when antibiotics are used and kill off other bacteria that would normally compete with it.

Card said C. difficile cases have been sporadic, popping up on 13 units at Victoria Hospital.
The facility has 33 clinical units.

“We are not seeing transmission on a unit,” she said."

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