A virulent strain of the Clostridium difficile superbug has been linked to the recent deaths of 17 elderly patients at a hospital.

A further eleven who have the bug are being treated and five more sufferers have had bowel surgery at the James Paget University Hospital in Gorleston, Norfolk.

Health experts at the hospital said yesterday that they had not identified the source of the 027 strain of Clostridium difficile, commonly known as C.diff, and could not say whether patients contracted it in the hospital or in the outside community.

The bug was a contributory factor in the deaths of the patients between December 1 and March 28 and not the actual cause of death, experts said.

Of the 17 patients who died, the majority were over 65 and some in their 80s. Of the five who had surgery to alleviate the worst symptoms, several are said to have recovered and left the hospital.

Medics said that the fit and healthy had little to fear from the bug but those patients in hospital or outside who had been taking antibiotics were at risk because of imbalances in the gut brought on by taking the drugs.

To prevent more cases developing, different antibiotics were being given to patients in the hospital and the outside community. The hospital has also spent £400,000 on new health precautions.

A statement from the James Paget University Hospitals NHS Trust said: “At the beginning of December 2006 we became increasingly concerned about a rise in our normally low background rate of C.diff.

“Our concerns were heightened by the increasing severity of illness which led us to believe that a new strain was present in the hospital.

“We immediately responded to these changes in the patterns of patients’ illness by putting in place a wide range of additional infection-control measures.”

Precautions include putting patients suspected of having the bug in isolation rooms, revising antibiotic prescribing policy, upgrading cleaning procedures and introducing new deep-cleaning techniques, involving the recruitment of 15 new staff.

Visitors to the hospital are being asked to wash their hands with soap and water as an extra precaution as the usual alcohol gel is not a protection against the bug.

Mr Nick Coveney, director of nursing and patient services at the hospital, said: “This strain of C.diff is much more virulent than any strain we have experienced previously.”

It was not yet possible to say whether all the patients who died had the 027 strain of the bug as more tests were being carried out.

In the two years prior to December 2006 the hospital had 11 patients who had experienced C.diff complications that had contributed to their deaths.

Deadly strain

Early 1970s: Clostridum difficile discovered
1990: Laboratories begin voluntary reporting of cases diagnosed to the Health Protection Agency
1991: Fewer than 1,000 cases reported
1999: First case of Clostridum difficile type 27
2002: 22,000 cases including second case of type 27
2003: 28,000 cases
2004: 44,488 cases
2004-2005: type 27 identified in outbreaks at Stoke Mandeville and the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospitals

Source: Department of Health

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