Clostridium difficile could outstrip MRSA in Irish hospitals

Link: Clostridium difficile could outstrip MRSA in Irish hospitals.

Research findings on a bug which is a major threat to hospital patients and particularly elderly patients, which could outstrip MRSA, will be presented to the Irish Society for Immunology (ISI) Annual Conference at Dublin City University. The symptoms from this bug, which is called Clostridium difficile, range from mild illness to life-threatening colitis. In severely affected patients the inner lining of the colon becomes severely inflamed and sometimes the walls of the colon wear away, causing perforation, which can lead to a life-threatening infection of the abdomen. "The bug is not as well known as MRSA but in recent years it has been linked to twice as many deaths as the more famous deadly superbug. It is vital that we find out as much about this bug as possible to improve our methods of prevention and treatment of this infection" said Dr Loscher.