C. difficile difficult, dangerous for hospitals to battle
GUELPH — Betty Beard doesn’t blame anyone for the recent death of her elderly husband Ed after he developed a C. difficile infection while in Guelph General Hospital for pneumonia.
The Guelph woman is confident in the care provided at the hospital for her 92-year-old husband, who died two weeks ago in the midst of the hospital’s C. difficile outbreak.
“I really feel we had incredible care,” said Beard, 85.
Six patients with C. difficile have died at Guelph General since June, with the bacterial infection a possible contributing factor.
An outbreak was declared in early July after the hospital began noticing back in May a spike in the number of patients contracting the contagious bacterium in hospital. Usually, the hospital sees no more than two hospital-acquired cases a month. Seven cases were reported in May, five in June and five in July.
“When you get a big spike two months in a row, you have an outbreak,” said hospital president and chief executive officer Richard Ernst.
Guelph General is not alone in struggling with C. difficile. Several hospitals across Ontario have declared outbreaks since early May and the bacterium is linked to more than 20 deaths, primarily in the Niagara region.
Waterloo Region’s hospitals also report a rise in cases and several deaths of patients with C. difficile.
Ed Beard is typical of those Guelph patients who died: elderly — ages averaged in the early 90s — and admitted with multiple medical problems.
“It’s still tragic, unfortunate,” Ernst said. “It’s always difficult for families to deal with the loss of a loved one.”
C. difficile is a difficult bug for hospitals to battle.
The bacterium is common, found in upwards of five per cent of people. The spores are hardy, lasting for months on surfaces. That means C. difficile easily gets into hospitals and can hang around for a long time.
Until relatively recently, C. difficile was mostly a nuisance for hospitals. Patients would suffer with diarrhea that cleared up easily with treatment.
“Now it’s a real legitimate threat,” said Dr. William Ciccotelli, medical director for infectious disease at St. Mary’s General and Grand River hospitals.
A new strain emerged about a decade ago, causing a huge outbreak in Quebec that killed about 2,000 in 2003.
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