26.09.13
‘Most of us get’ C. difficile
A study of every patient infected with C. difficile in the Oxford University Hospital NHS Trust area between 2008 and 2011 has shown that only 18% seem to have caught it from person-to-person contact.
This implies that exposure is much more common than often thought.
University of Oxford researchers found that reducing cases of the infection further could require a different approach to deep cleaning. The study took samples of bacteria from every infected patient to find the probable cause. 18% of the infections were spread between people in hospital, they concluded. We are probably exposed to C. difficile all the time, the researchers suggested, but it only becomes problematic in vulnerable people, such as the elderly.
One of the researchers, Professor Tim Peto, told the BBC: “More and more deep cleaning ain't going to do any good. I think we're eating it all the time, probably from animals, and most of us get it and it doesn't matter.”
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