Plagues,
Pestilences and Diseases
CDC: Deadly Super-bug infections at all-time high
CNN - The number of people being hospitalized for Clostridium
difficile (C. difficile) has tripled in the past 10 years
according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. While other infections commonly spread in health care
settings have been going down over the past decade, C. difficile
infections are at "historically high and unacceptable levels,"
according to the CDC's Principal Deputy Director, Ileana Arias.
"C. difficile is causing many Americans to suffer and die," Arias
says. The CDC estimates about 14,000 people each year die from
these infections, which can be treated if caught early.
The new CDC report finds that 94% of all C. difficile infections
are connected to medical care settings, impacting patients not
just in hospitals but also in nursing homes, doctors offices and
other outpatient settings. The report finds that infections are
being moved from one facility to another as infected patients get
moved and necessary precautions to prevent the spread aren't
taken. The CDC estimates about one-quarter of patients develop
symptoms while in a hospital, the other 75% get sick in nursing
homes, clinics or doctors offices.
C. difficile symptoms include (sometimes deadly) diarrhea, fever,
loss of appetite, nausea, belly pain and tenderness.
C. difficile is a bacterium which forms spores and these spores
can persist in the environment, survive on surfaces like hand
rails, bathroom fixtures or medical equipment for months, People
who are currently or who recently were taking antibiotics are the
most vulnerable for getting sick, says medical epidemiologist and
lead study author Dr. Clifford McDonald. That's because
antibiotics not only destroy bad bacteria, but also good bacteria
that protect from other infections, opening the door for a C.
difficile infection.
For example: A patient may go to the doctor with an existing
infection like pneumonia and will get a prescription for an
antibiotic. That patient is now vulnerable for other C. difficile
infections for several months. If this patient finds himself in a
hospital for some reason and comes in contact with a worker who
has not properly washed his hands or touched something with the
bacteria on it or treated another patient with an existing C.
difficile infection and isn't wearing gloves, then the now
vulnerable patient can be infected. The now infected patient will
likely develop diarrhea and if he in turn doesn't wash his hands
properly can spread it elsewhere, let's say at nursing home where
he lives.
Clifford says about while about half of the infections occur in
people under the age of 65, more than "90% of deaths occur in
people 65 and older."
C. difficile can be treated with specific antibiotics. But
patients need to be tested for it and if they test positive and
get transferred to other facilities like a nursing home or
dialysis center, those health care settings need to be notified
about the patient's infection.
"Illness and death linked to this deadly disease do not have to
happen," says CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden. The CDC recommends
health care providers takes the following steps to help prevent
the spread of the infection:
1. Prescribe antibiotics only when absolutely necessary. The CDC
says 50% of antibiotic prescriptions are not needed.
2. Test for C. difficile if a patient has diarrhea while taking
antibiotics or had been taking them within the past several
months.
3. Put patients testing positive for C. difficile in isolation.
4. Health care workers need to wear gloves and gowns when taking
care of infected patients. (McDonald says that commonly used hand
sanitizers do not kill C.difficile bacteria.)
5. Clean room surfaces with bleach or other EPA-approved cleaners
that will kill the C-difficile spores.
6. When patients are transferred to other settings, notify the
facility about the patient's diagnosis so necessary precautions
can be made.
Patients can also help slow the spread of this potentially deadly
infection by doing the following:
1. Only take antibiotics as prescribed by physicians.
2. Tell your doctor if you develop diarrhea while taking
antibiotics or within a few months after taking the drugs.
3. Thoroughly wash your hands with soap after using the bathroom.
4. Try using a separate bathroom (if possible), if you have
diarrhea. If that's not possible, try to thoroughly clean all
surfaces to prevent spores from lingering and infecting someone
else.