Superbug Kills Eight Patients At Same Hospital Options

[Fremen Bryan]

Hospitals are very dangerous places.

Plagues, Pestilences and Diseases
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Superbug kills eight patients at same hospital

By Auslan Cramb, Scottish Correspondent
Last Updated: 10:05PM BST 11/06/2008

A virulent "superbug" has killed eight patients at the same hospital in
the past six months.

An investigation into cases at the Vale of Leven Hospital in Alexandria
found that eight of the 54 patients who contracted Clostridium
difficile, or C. diff, had died as a direct result.

The infection was a contributory factor in a further eight deaths and a
review of hygiene procedures and the use of antibiotics - which can harm
the body's defences against infection - is now underway.

A further six patients who contracted C. diff later died although the
infection was not responsible.

The investigation by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde revealed that of the
54 patients treated for the superbug, 13 had it when they were admitted
to the hospital.

It launched the inquiry in May amid fears that the infection had been
passed between the Vale of Leven Hospital and the Royal Alexandra
Hospital in Paisley.

Dr Syed Ahmed, of the outbreak control team, said: "The overall number
of C. diff cases within the six-month period is higher on average than
we would expect, but we are particularly concerned about the number of
deaths due to this infection.

"This may not be due to any specific strain of C. diff but more to do
with the type of patients treated at the Vale of Leven which has a high
proportion of elderly patients who are more likely to develop symptoms
of the infection.

"Older people have a far greater natural occurrence of C. diff. One in
five older people carry the bug in their gut compared to only one in
fifty young adults."

Ross Finnie, the Lib Dem health spokesman, said the death of eight
patients suggested a "complete failure" by the health board to keep on
top of virus control.

The hospital is to be given improved hand washing facilities, with
greater emphasis placed on hygiene protocols.

The latest techniques for treating and managing C. diff will also be
introduced.

Prof John Coia, director of the National C. diff Reference Service, said
one of the most significant measures taken would involve chanign the way
antibiotics were used.

He added: "Recent reports from elsewhere in the UK and North America
show that significant reductions in C. diff rates can be achieved when
this measure is used to supplement existing infection control techniques."

There are currently only three patients in the hospital with the
infection and all are being treated in isolation, the health board said.

C. diff is a bacterium that causes diarrhoea and more serious intestinal
conditions such as colitis.