Speaker To Address 8,324 C. diff Deaths In UK During 2007

Posted on June 24, 2009 by C. difficile Lawyer

 This just in from across the pond:

 

"In England and Wales, the national health statistics in 2007 showed that there were 8,324 death certificates which named Clostridium difficile. This is a bacterium which causes severe diarrhoea in humans and animals as the underlying cause of death, a 28 percent increase from 2006."

Janet Nale of the Department of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation has been investigating the contributing factors that make Clostridium difficile so aggressive to direct treatment.

She will present her research at the Festival of Postgraduate Research tomorrow on Thursday, June 25th in the Belvoir Suite, Charles Wilson Building at the University of Leicester between 11:30 am and 1 pm. This event is open to the public and is free to attend.  We will be looking for what she has to say.

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Alimentary Pharmabiotic Center Building Designer Bacteria To Fight C diff And Other Superbugs

Posted on June 10, 2009 by Bill Marler

 If there were a bully in the neighborhood, the Irish way to deal with the situation might be to find  somebody bigger to knock him or her out. That appears to be the tack the University College Cork (UCC) is taking when it comes to the dangerous Clostridium difficile.

A UCC research team plans to fight hospital superbugs with designer bacteria that they hope will be tougher than Clostridium difficile.

In other words, the Irish researchers plan to conduct germ warfare against the very superbugs that are proving resistance to the world’s best antibiotics. They want to stop C difficile and the infamous MRSA.

The approach UCC’s Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre (APC) is taking is to add extra genes to give their designer bacteria an edge over C difficile.  The APC looks for “good bugs” in the most unexpected of places. Gut tissue samples recovered from consenting patients offer a ready supply, but so too does the contents of an infant’s nappy. “They are quite good sources for probiotics,” Dr. Roy Sleator told The Irish Times.

For more on germ warfare against the superbugs, check out the rest of the story in today's IT here.

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