Detected since March 2013 in several health establishments in Bouches-du-Rhône, the bacterium Clostridium difficile 027 is suspected of having caused three deaths in the region.
“Clostridium difficile 027” is the name of the mutant bacteria that worries the medical community and patients of Bouches-du-Rhône. Indeed, detected since March 2013 in several health and medico-social establishments in the region, “it presents a more severe character than the original strain”, explained in a press release the Regional Health Agency (ARS).
“Even if the causal link is not established by the medical community”, 3 patients with Clostridium difficile 027 recently died in the region, acknowledged the ARS. And the Agency specifies that “most of these people are weakened by advancing age and disease.”
At present, 4 patients are still affected by an infection linked to the bacteria. They are currently monitored at the North Hospital of Marseille by the medical teams of the infectious diseases department. “These people are isolated and hygiene measures are implemented,” said the press release.
Since March 2013, 41 people have been infected with Clostridium difficile 027 infection in Bouches-du-Rhône, including 10 in Marseille. The infection was thus identified in 6 health and medico-social establishments of the department welcoming the elderly.
Very contagious, this Clostridium difficile 027 infection is transmitted by fecal-oral infection. It manifests as diarrhea, accompanied by abdominal cramps and fever. “The bacteria is particularly deleterious in the elderly, the average age of affected patients fluctuates between 75 and 80 years, who have previously been treated with antibiotic therapy. Treatments which alter the intestinal flora and which leave the field free for the bacteria “, specifies the Institute for Public Health Surveillance. Finally, in addition to the reminder of hygiene measures in the affected establishments, the Agency is alerting liberal doctors to the urgency of detecting the bacteria as quickly as possible.
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