Canada - C. difficile outbreak could end in lawsuit (long)

Pat's Note: I was commenting that the Candians were quiet. The action
seems to have moved to where some of this started - British Columbia.

Nanaimo does have pig farms in the area, started when Chinese miners
left the industry early last century, I believe.

So, once again this is in line with the most recent and least proven
part of the Gardiner Hypothesis and a culture of secrecy.


http://www.bclocalnews.com/news/27027914.html

C. difficile outbreak could end in lawsuit


By Jenn Marshall - Nanaimo News Bulletin

Published: August 15, 2008 3:00 PM Health officials say they have no
way of determining if the worst of a potentially deadly bacterial
outbreak at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital is over.

“We do believe that we’re controlling the outbreak,” said Dr. David
Forrest, medical director of infection prevention and control for the
central and northern Island with the Vancouver Island Health
Authority.

“Are we controlling transmission? I can’t answer that for certain at
this point.”

Meanwhile, a $50-million class action lawsuit was launched last week
against an Ontario hospital following a C. difficile outbreak.

Lawyer Stanley Tick said the suit includes an estimated 180-190 people
who contracted the potentially-deadly bacteria at Joseph Brant
Memorial Hospital in Burlington, Ont. from early 2006 to the end of
2007.

Tick said about 90 patients died during that time, directly or
indirectly as a result of C. difficile.

“They failed to meet appropriate standards of care to protect the
patients of the hospital from getting infected and they failed to
recognize that they even had a problem,” said Tick.

“It’s the responsibility of the hospital to deliver safe services in a
sterile manner to protect them from undue contact with infectious
diseases such as C. difficile.”

Margi Blamey, Hospital Employees’ Union spokeswoman, said the union
sought a legal opinion in 2003 on the liability of the provincial
government for contracted health care support services like
housekeeping.

Since April, there have been 51 cases of Clostridium difficile at
NRGH, a bacterium that lives in the intestines and can cause diarrhea,
fever and cramps.

Forrest said 11 cases remain in hospital. Three patients have died so
far, the last death occurring about two weeks ago.

Forrest said patients can acquire the illness for several weeks before
showing symptoms, so it is not confirmed that the peak has been
reached.

He said health staff were informed of the outbreak July 16 and written
notification was sent out to hospital management July 24.

News of the outbreak wasn’t shared with the general public, but
Forrest said it was not necessary because the outbreak was not deemed
a threat to the public or visitors.

Forrest said in late July, VIHA took the additional precaution of
putting up signs around the infected wards asking visitors of patients
with C. difficile not to travel around the hospital and to practice
careful handwashing.

The cause of the outbreak is still under investigation.

“I don’t think it will become clear probably for months as to why it’s
happened,” he said.

Forrest said a spike in the rates of C. difficile at NRGH in 2006
prompted the health authority to make changes to housekeeping
practices and develop a more rigorous infection control protocol.

“That would suggest that the adequacy of housekeeping is not the
reason this has happened,” he said.

Dr. Bonnie Henry, physician epidemiologist with the B.C. Centre for
Disease Control, said many people carry the C. difficile bacteria in
their gut, but it is when someone has a weakened immune system or is
on antibiotics that kill off the good bacteria in the gut that C.
difficile is able to overgrow.

“The concern that we’ve had over the last 10 years is there’s been a
strain that’s emerged that secretes way more toxins than usual,” she
said. “It’s likely that some of the cases in Nanaimo were related to
this strain.”

A Quebec study found that the bacterium was indirectly responsible for
108 deaths during a six-month period.

Henry said the BCCDC does not monitor C. difficile and has no way of
knowing how many British Columbians have contracted the illness. But,
she added, the provincial infection network is working on a
computerized surveillance system that will help the provincial
government monitor the illness.

Margi Blamey, spokeswoman for the Hospital Employees’ Union, said
housekeeping staff told the union only cleaners working on the
infected floors were told of the outbreak.

“Our members first heard about the C. diff outbreak as they came onto
the affected floors about four to five weeks ago,” she said.

Blamey said it is common for staff to be re-assigned from one floor to
another and some staff could have entered the infected wards unaware
of the outbreak.

“I think the thing that took people by surprise was that there were
deaths as a result of the outbreak,” she said.

Cleaning staff have been using a two-step cleaning process since last
week and administration intends to begin a comprehensive sterilization
of the entire hospital over the next week, moving patients and
equipment.

reporter@nanaimobulletin.com

Sider: Ontario lawsuit

A $50-million class action lawsuit was launched last week against an
Ontario hospital following a C. difficile outbreak.

Lawyer Stanley Tick said the suit includes an estimated 180-190 people
who contracted the potentially-deadly bacteria at Joseph Brant
Memorial Hospital in Burlington, Ont. from early 2006 to the end of
2007.

Tick said about 90 patients died during that time, directly or
indirectly as a result of C. difficile.

“They failed to meet appropriate standards of care to protect the
patients of the hospital from getting infected and they failed to
recognize that they even had a problem,” said Tick.

“It’s the responsibility of the hospital to deliver safe services in a
sterile manner to protect them from undue contact with infectious
diseases such as C. difficile.”

Margi Blamey, Hospital Employees’ Union spokeswoman, said the union
sought a legal opinion in 2003 on the liability of the provincial
government for contracted health care support services like
housekeeping.

That opinion was that if contracted services were found to be
substandard and cause the spread of infectious disease, health
authorities and the provincial government would be liable.

--
Regards
Pat Gardiner
Release the results of testing British pigs for MRSA and C.Diff now!
www.go-self-sufficient.com  and http://animal-epidemics.blogspot.com/
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