C.diff developing resistance to key drug

Link: C.diff superbug kills one patient in British hospitals every hour| News | This is London.

However, last week the Department of Health said that the battle against such superbugs was being won, claiming that C.diff infections in England had fallen by eight per cent between October and December 2007.

But according to the Panorama investigation, the way cases are counted has changed, and experts calculate that the real figure is actually between 16 and 35 per cent higher than the official rate.

Among the most serious concerns of scientists is that these figures reflect a mutation and strengthening of the superbug. Only two antibiotics can treat C.diff, and research has revealed that it has developed partial resistance to one of them.

Ironically, measures brought in to combat MRSA in hospitals are actually contributing to the spread of C.diff.

According to Professor Brendan Wren, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, alcohol handwashes, which are now used in 94 per cent of hospitals, encourage the growth of C.diff spores.