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CLOSTRIDIUM DIFFICILE : THE PROBLEM

# # # # # 90 DEATHS PER WEEK # # # # #

"Patients may present with as many as 20-30 episodes of watery, green, foul smelling diarrhoea a day. The patients may also have fever, abdominal cramps, and blood in the stools. Because many patients are incontinent of diarrhoea at this stage, their dignity and privacy may be compromised".

The Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, LTHT Infection Control Policies, March 2003

The problem of Clostridium difficileinfections is high profile and serious.

The figures for the UK are devastating, and rising fast:

Over 1000 clinical cases per week
Over 90 deaths per week

Distress caused to carers in hospitals and nursing homes can, perhaps, be imagined.

Why is Clostridium difficile such a problem?

The Clostridium difficile bacterium is not difficult to kill, and is susceptible to most disinfectants. The problem is that, exposed to the air, is forms spores. These are tough seed-like microscopic structures, impervious to most chemicals, able to survive in the environment for months, or even years.

In order to kill C. diff spores, you need a chemical which can penetrate the spore wall, to attack the vital chemical structure of the organism.

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