Two outbreaks of Clostridium difficile (C.diff) at the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance are now over.
Hospital officials said the outbreaks on the Medicine A Unit and Medicine B Unit at the Chatham site were rescinded by Chatham-Kent Public Health on Wednesday.
The two outbreaks were declared during the month of February after multiple cases of health care-acquired C.diff were detected.
C.diff is one of the many bacteria that can be found in feces. C.diff infection happens when antibiotics kill the good gut bacteria, which allows C.diff to multiply. When this occurs, the C.diff bacteria produces toxins that damage the gut and can cause diarrhea. C.diff is the most common cause of infectious diarrhea in hospitals and nursing homes.
