Niagara Health System reports another C. diff outbreak at St. Catharines General
Just a few weeks ago, officials with Niagara Health System (NHS) declared an Clostridium difficile (C. diff) outbreak on the Oncology Medical/Palliative Unit at St. Catharines General. Today, NHS reports another C. diff outbreak, this time on Medical Unit, C3East at the hospital, according to an NHS press release Feb. 25.
Clostridium difficile
Image/CDC
The unit has report five cases of hospital-associated C. difficile in the last two weeks. Four affected patients remain on the unit, and there have been no deaths associated with the outbreak.
“The NHS team is working extremely hard to combat superbugs and bring an end to this outbreak as quickly as possible. Fighting superbugs is a reality for all hospitals and will always be a challenge. Strict infection prevention and control protocols remain in place at all of our sites, and we are in regular contact with Infectious Disease expert Dr. Michael Gardam to ensure we are doing all we can,” says Dr. Joanna Hope, Interim Chief of Staff. “Our staff, physicians and volunteers are committed to ensuring patients continue to receive safe, quality care.”
According to the Mayo Clinic, C. diff is a bacterium that can cause symptoms ranging from diarrhea to life-threatening inflammation of the colon. Illness from C. difficile most commonly affects older adults in hospitals or in long term care facilities and typically occurs after use of antibiotic medications.
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