The strain of C. difficile bacteria behind 400 deaths in Quebec last year has been found in eight other provinces, preliminary test results suggest.

Clostridium difficile
  • also known as C. difficile
  • can live on surfaces for a long time
  • is resistant to most antibiotics
  • can be spread through human contact
  • causes severe diarrhea and fever
  • in serious cases, patients are forced to have their bowels or intestines removed
  • some patients may die as a result of infection
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    The Public Health Agency of Canada analyzed 615 strains of Clostridium difficile bacteria coming from hospitals in nine provinces.

    The bacteria attack the intestines, producing toxins that can cause severe diarrhea and death from dehydration.

    Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia were hardest hit by the more dangerous strain, called NAP 1. Only New Brunswick has been spared so far, although more samples need to be studied.

    The results confirm the new strain of C. difficile is more dangerous, causing more people to be treated in intensive care, more colon biopsies and deaths. Previous research suggests the strain produces more toxins.

    "The most astonishing finding was that more patients were dying from the disease," said Denise Gravel, an epidemiologist with the agency.

    In 1997, 1.5 per cent of patients infected with C. difficile would die either directly or indirectly from the bacteria. The latest national results suggest the figure has risen to six per cent.

    In Quebec, C. difficile is responsible directly or indirectly for 15 per cent of deaths, according to the agency.

    There are still 1,200 more strains to analyze, Gravel said. So far, 20 per cent of the stool samples from patients contained the bacterial subgroup NAP 1.

    As tests continue, researchers said they expect to find the strain is widespread throughout Canada.

    Doctors outside of Quebec are not seeing the same level of illness, possibly because of differences in the age and state of the hospitals, and varying levels of infection control measures, such as handwashing.

    The agency plans to continue collecting stool samples from people infected with C. difficile to see whether the strain is spreading or new types appear.

    Agency staff are also developing infection control guidelines for acute and long-term care facilities in the hopes of preventing and controlling the bacterial infections.