New Superbug (C. diff.) Surpasses MRSA Infection Rates in Community Hospitals

New Superbug Surpasses MRSA Infection Rates in Community Hospitals

By Duke Medicine News and Communications

While prevention methods appear to be helping to lower hospital infection rates from MRSA, a deadly antibiotic-resistant bacterium, a new superbug is on the rise, according to research from the Duke Infection Control Outreach Network.

New data shows infections from Clostridium difficile are surpassing methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections in community hospitals.

“We found that MRSA infections have declined steadily since 2005, but C. difficile infections have increased since 2007,” said Becky Miller, MD, an infectious diseases fellow at Duke University Medical Center.

C. difficile is a multi-drug resistant bacterium that causes diarrhea and in some cases life-threatening inflammation of the colon. The infections are currently treated with one of two antibiotics. But relapses are common and occur in one-quarter of patients despite treatment, according to Miller.

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C. diff deaths 'continue to rise'

The number of deaths involving the hospital bug Clostridium difficile in England and Wales rose by 28% between 2006 and 2007, official figures show.

The Office for National Statistics data reports C. difficile was mentioned on 8,324 death certificates compared to 6,480 in the previous year.

Experts say the increase may partly be due to better reporting of the infection.

However, deaths from the superbug MRSA fell slightly over the same period.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7585668.stm

MRSA and C diff death rates fall

Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that the number of death certificates mentioning C diff fell by 29% between 2007 and 2008, to 5,931.

This is the first year that mentions on a death certificate have fallen since records began in 1999.

The number of death certificates mentioning MRSA fell by 23% over the same period, to 1,230 – the second year running in which mentions have fallen.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/aug/19/mrsa-superbugs-death-rates

Evidence-based review of probiotics for antibiotic-associated diarrhea and Clostridium difficile infections

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Abstract

Probiotics are living microbes taken to confer a health benefit on the host. Although probiotics have a long history of use in Europe and Asia and have been on the U.S. market for over 14 years, there is still confusion about how to effectively use them. The use of probiotics for the prevention of antibiotic-associated diarrhea (AAD) and the treatment of Clostridium difficile infections (CDI) has been tested in randomized controlled clinical trials.

This paper will review the evidence supporting probiotic therapy for these two diseases and also review the advantages and disadvantages of probiotics. The advantages of probiotic therapy include multiple mechanisms of action against pathogens, the ability to interact with the host's natural defense systems, survival to the target organ and a good risk to benefit ratio. Disadvantages of probiotics include lack of standardization for clinical trial designs, variations in regulatory standards, poor quality control for some products and infrequent serious adverse reactions. Overall, probiotics offer a promising strategy for the prevention and treatment for AAD and CDI

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