Could soap foil hospital superbug?

Montreal - More than 710 contract C. difficile at Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital in Montreal. A number of deaths believed related to the outbreak.

Updated March 2/2010 The CBC is reporting that Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital in Montreal is battling a Clostridium difficile outbreak that has infected more than 710 over the past three years. Although the hospital is refusing to confirm the exact number of deaths related to C. difficile, it is known several patients died among the hundreds who contracted the infamous superbug --- one of the most dangerous superbug infections found in North American hospitals. A superbug is a bacterium resistant to the antibiotics commonly used to fight it. The CBC reported the story after the CBC French-language service obtained internal documents under the access to information laws. The hospital was forced to admit it has been dealing with the serious bacterial infection causing severe diarrhea, high fever, abdominal pain, and in those with compromised immune systems, increased mortality rates. Cyberpresse is reporting that in 2007-2008, 229 cases of C. difficile were reported at the Montreal hospital. The following year there were 230. In this present year, ending March 31, there have been 254 cases to date. That is more than 710 cases in just three years. A hospital spokesman said a combination of improper sterilization, overcrowded emergency rooms and the presence of elderly patients all contributed to the ongoing problem. The documents indicated rates of infection from C. difficile were lower when Quebec provincial health officials last inspected the hospital a number of years ago. Recently the rates have again shown a downward trend, dropping 50 percent beginning in February, as the hospital steps up measures fighting the superbug. According to the National Health Services (NHS) in Great Britain C. difficile is present naturally in the gut of around 3 percent of adults and 66 percent of children. The NHS says the bacteria become dangerous when antibiotics upset the bacterial balance of the gut. This explains why most cases occur in hospitals or other health care facilities. It is from this antibiotic soup, that the superbug is born. According to the CBC:

"Last fall, Quebec hospitals reported their lowest overall C. difficile infection rates in five years. Health officials suggested that stricter hand-washing and other measures inspired by the swine flu outbreak might have helped reduce the incidence of C. difficile."

This jibes nices with the NHS recommendation --- institute good hygiene practices. The solution to the C. difficile outbreaks could be as simple as more generous use of soap and water. This is the approach favoured by Dr. Michael Libman, Director of the Division of Infectious Diseases at the McGill University Health Centre in Montreal. In 2007, Dr. Matthew Oughton, a researcher on Dr Libman's team, said at the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, “We think that alcohol eliminates the 'living' bacteria but not the spores, whereas the mechanical action of washing combined with the chemical action of soap eliminates both."