Clostridium difficile, commonly called C. difficile (CDI), is a bacterium that causes diarrhea and other serious intestinal conditions. It is the most common cause of infectious diarrhea in hospitals and long-term care facilities in Canada. C. difficile causes disease by releasing toxins that destroy the lining of the bowel which, in turn, causes bloating and frequent, watery diarrhea. Other symptoms such as severe abdominal pain and tenderness, and/or fever may occur. In rare instances, C.difficile can progress to more severe, life-threatening disease such as perforation of the bowel or toxic megacolon (or enlargement of the colon). People can also acquire C.difficile without developing CDI and remain without symptoms.
Hospitalised patients can acquire C.difficile if they touch surfaces contaminated with feces (e.g. toilet seats, bedrails, door handles, soiled linens, etc.), and then touch their mouths. C.difficile may also spread from patient to patient via the contaminated hands of health care workers. The population at risk of acquiring CDI includes the elderly, or people with certain antibiotics exposure, immunocompromising conditions or serious underlying disease. It is very uncommon for patients to develop CDI without prior antibiotic use. Also at risk are patients who have frequent hospital admissions and prolonged and excessive length of hospital stays.
The Public Health Agency of Canada has collected data on healthcare-associated CDI (HA-CDI) through the Canadian Nosocomial Infection Surveillance Program (CNISP). This report describes the epidemiology of HA-CDI and the C.difficile strains types in Canada from 2007 to 2012. The following are highlights of this surveillance report:
To obtain a copy of the report, send your request to:ccdic-clmti@phac-aspc.gc.ca
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