C. difficile outbreak declared in Canada
There is another outbreak of the Clostridium difficile bacterial infection at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital. Six months ago, the Vancouver Island Health Authority confirmed an end to an earlier C. difficile outbreak that began in July 2008. That outbreak affected nearly 100 patients and was directly responsible for five deaths.
Dr. Martin Wale, medical director for infection prevention and control, said C. difficile cases are again higher than expected at the Nanaimo hospital.
From mid-October to mid-November, NRGH saw 11 cases of C. difficile, well above the expected average of five patients with C. difficile at any one time. As of Tuesday, Wale said there are seven patients in isolation at NRGH with the infection, adding that two patients acquired the infection from the community. The health authority’s outbreak protocol requires enhanced cleaning, including a top-to-bottom cleaning of the entire hospital and more powerful cleaning chemicals.
