U of G and Guelph General Hospital partner to understand common pathogen
The University of Guelph and Guelph General Hospital (GGH) have recently teamed up to study the Clostridium difficile bacteria, with the intention to help prevent future outbreaks in hospitals and long-term care facilities. Dr. Scott Weese, a pathobiology professor in the Ontario Veterinary College (OVC) will be working with his former Ph.D. student Dr. Devon Metcalf, now working at GGH in infection prevention and control, on the project.
The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) lists C.difficile as a bacterium that usually causes mild to severe diarrhea and colon inflammation. Healthy people are not at risk, but people such as the elderly and those taking antibiotics for an extended period of time are more vulnerable, as C. difficile is able to thrive and produce its toxins when normal gut bacteria are no longer present or functioning properly. It is the most frequent cause of infectious diarrhea in hospitals and long-term care facilities in Canada, as well as many other industrialized countries.
Weese and Metcalf have studied bacteria from GGH patients to see if the cases are linked or have different sources. In a news release published by the University of Guelph, Weese explains that, in order to know what intervention is necessary, one first needs to know what is going on. Treatment plans are very different, depending on whether patients contracted the bacteria while inside the hospital, or if they brought it in with them. Metcalf added that patients do not always share the same strain, and that this work has taught them that C. difficile outbreaks may not be a result of transmitting the bug between patients.
Other studies have found that C. difficile has a particularly strong ability to modify its genome, making it adaptable to environmental changes, and potentially increasing its rate of transmission. Additionally, studies have found that different strains can produce different toxins.
In Canada and the United States alone, there are hundreds of thousands of cases of infection every year. Symptoms of C. difficile infection include diarrhea, fever, loss of appetite, nausea, and abdominal tenderness. The bacteria and their spores are found in feces, and people can become infected if they touch contaminated surfaces before touching their mouths. The best way to prevent the spread, as with many other infections, is with proper and regular handwashing.
Weese and Metcalf stated that as testing is ongoing, it is too early to speculate on specific outcomes. However, they specified that their research could have an effect on preventing and containing the bacteria, especially in regards to outbreak declaration and response action.