Ten patients at a hospital in Gatineau, Que., have been diagnosed with infections caused by C. difficile bacteria.

Six of the patients at the Hôpital de Hull were diagnosed earlier this week and four more were diagnosed on Wednesday, said Denis St-Jean, a spokesman for the hospital.

The outbreak of C. difficile was reported the same day Quebec's public health director announced that infections due to the bacteria were down 60 per cent at Quebec hospitals.
(CBC)

The infections were reported the same day Quebec's public health director, Dr. Alain Poirier, announced that the number of C. difficile cases has decreased by 60 per cent provincewide since the initial outbreak in 2004.

Clostridium difficile infections cause severe diarrhea, and are sometimes fatal. They are often acquired in hospitals, where they are associated with the use of antibiotics. The drugs kill bacteria that normally live in the human gut, providing room for C. difficile to take over.

St-Jean said Thursday that staff at the hospital have moved all affected Hull patients to one ward of the facility, and equipment and supplies used in that ward will not be used in other parts of the hospital.

The hospital has also put in place increased sanitation measures for both staff and visitors, including stricter handwashing guidelines and the use of masks and gowns.

St-Jean said the number of C. difficile cases at the hospital has not been higher than usual, but the public has grown more concerned.

"It's become a very public issue in Quebec," he said, "and there have been very severe cases elsewhere in the province so everyone's keeping an eye on it."

He added that it is impossible to eliminate all cases of the infection, but hospitals are taking measures to control their spread.

There have been continuing problems with outbreaks of C. difficile bacterial infections at Quebec hospitals, including one at the Centre hospitalier Honoré-Mercier in Saint-Hyacinthe, Que., that resulted in 11 deaths. A coroner's inquest was called on Nov. 8 to look into the circumstances surrounding those deaths.