How A C.Diff Infection Occurs

How A C.Diff Infection Occurs
A C.diff Infection occurs when the c.diff micro-organism
grows out of control in the gastronintestinal tract (GI).

Ordinarily this kind of micro-organism is harmless and
actually helps in the digestion of food and nutrients. As
such, we all have micro-organisms have them in our bodies
and c.diff can be present in around 3% of healthy adults.

But, a C.Diff Infection occurs when the c.diff
micro-organism begins to grow out of control resulting in
severe infectious diarrhea and inflammation of the large
intestine. This can happen to hospitalised people and the
presence of c.diff in hospitalised adults is ten times
higher (up to 30%) than in ordinarily healthy adults.

A C.Diff Infection is by far the most common cause of
diarrhea found in hospital patients.

Why Patients Are Susceptible To A C.Diff Infection

Basically, a C.Diff Infection occurs when a bodies
preventative bacteria is not strong enough to stop the
c.diff from outgrowing the GI tract. This happens for a
number of reasons:

• A long stay in hospital. The potential for c.diff
spreading in a clinical environment is very high and
combined with the stress a patient will be under and the
illness weakened body a hospital patient is a prime
candidate for C.Diff Infection.

• Age. C.diff is an infectious disease and as in all
diseases of this type the elderly are much more susceptible
because their immune systems are weak, especially when
hospitalised.

• Illness. Any serious or constant illness will weaken the
bodies immune system and increase the risk of a C.Diff
Infection.

• Antibiotics. A very real risk to a patient in a hospital
environment can be posed by antibiotics. Because
antibiotics can kill the bacteria which controls the growth
of c.diff a patient becomes susceptible to a C.Diff
Infection.

Why Does A C.Diff Infection Spread?

Unfortunately, a C.Diff Infection can spread very quickly
and it is not easily killed by cleaning agents that most
hospitals will use. C.diff forms spores which infected
people can transfer by contact with each other and surfaces
and those spores can live for up to five months.

It is because of the high degree of infection that c.diff
poses such a threat to hospitals and the patients in their
care.

How A C.Diff Infection Can Be Treated

The unfortunate truth about a C.diff Infection is that it
is very hard to treat and treatment can last for several
months. The evolvement of a new and more viral strain of
c.diff which is resistant to treatment can be fatal and it
is this strain of the disease which is proving so difficult
for our hospitals to control.

Some antibiotics can be used in the treatment of a C.diff
Infection including Flagyl. Flagyl is the most common
treatment and is usually taken in tablet form and is a
Metronidazole is used to treat bacterial or protozoal
infections.

Vancomycin is a stronger drug than Flagyl and is used to
try and combat the more serious strains of C.Diff
Infection. Taken orally Vancomycin is a parenteral
glycopeptide antibiotic and is a drug which has recently
been improved during the manufacturing process to increase
its purity and effectiveness against the stronger strains
of c.diff.

Can A C.diff Infection Be Prevented

Surprisingly simply washing hands is the best way to
prevent the spread of a C.diff Infection although the usual
alcohol based hand cleansers are not effective in
preventing the spread of c.diff.

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Craig Ellyard writes extensively about hospital acquired
diseases. For more information on C.Diff Infection and how
to claim compensation if effected go to
http://www.cdiff-compensation.co.uk