I don't understand with all these new strains. Where in the hell do they come from? First you hear that it is in Quebec and now it is in one of the top hospitals in Ontario. It freaks me out when I hear of new strains, the panic mode goes up. I know that it is in hospitals around the world but when there are deaths with this I become edgy. How do you know that it isn't in your local hospital? If you don't know what this strain is here is a story from the news. Madisonsmom you are a RN have you heard of this???
<H3>Deadly C. difficile strain hits T.O. hospital</H3>
< = =text/>
var byString = "";
var sourceString = "Canadian Press";
if ((sourceString != "") && (byString != "")) {
document.write(byString + ", ");
} else {
document.write(byString);
}
Canadian Press
TORONTO — A strain of C. difficile that has been blamed for more than 100 deaths in Quebec has been found in patients in Toronto's leading cancer hospital.
Dr. Michael Gardam, head of infection control at the University Health Network, said 10 cases of what he called the Montreal outbreak strain have been found in Princess Margaret Hospital, one of three facilities in the network.
"I think it was totally predictable. I mean, the bacteria don't stop at the border," Gardam said Thursday.
"It was going to get here and I'm not surprised that we might be the first ones to talk about it, because our hospital gets so many patients from all around the country."
The cases were identified retrospectively. Gardam was informed this week by Canada's National Microbiology Laboratory that DNA fingerprinting of three C. difficile isolates from Princess Margaret matched the Montreal strain. The isolates were sent to the national lab as part of a study the Public Health Agency of Canada is conducting to see how far and fast the Montreal strain is spreading.
One of the 10 patients died. The remaining nine are no longer in hospital, Gardam said.
But he said it's likely the highly virulent strain remains in hospital, and it is also probably lurking in other facilities in the city as well.
"I'm assuming it's elsewhere. There's no reason to suspect that we're the only place that's ever going to have this."
That's because Gardam believes the strain was brought into Princess Margaret last fall in two or three patients who were admitted from long-term care facilities.
"We know we didn't give it to them."
From those patients it spread to the other cases within the hospital, he said.
Clostridium difficile is a bacterium that can be carried in the intestine without causing disease. But when people who are carrying it are given certain types of antibiotics, the normal bacterial balance of the intestine can be destroyed, giving C. difficile a chance to thrive. As well, people in hospital on antibiotics who come in contact with C. difficile spores can become infected.
Infection leads to acute diarrhea which be hard to treat. In some cases, it can even lead to a condition called toxic megacolon, which can cause death.
The strain or strains behind the outbreaks in hospitals in Montreal and Sherbrooke, Que., have been persistent and have caused more serious disease than previously seen strains of C. difficile.
Gardam said that now that he knows the Montreal strain was afflicting patients in one of his hospitals, he can understand a change in the pattern of disease he's been seeing in the recent past.
"I would say anecdotally over the last three months we have started to see patients who are getting very bad disease, which is something we didn't see a year ago."
After getting the word from the national lab, the University Health Network laboratory went back through its database of C. difficile fingerprints lookin
Welcome to the International Emetophobia Society | The Web's Largest Meeting Place for People With Emetophobia.
Reply With Quote
