A second outbreak of Clostridium difficile has been declared at the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance.
Hospital officials say two cases of healthcare-acquired C.diff have been confirmed in the Medicine A unit of the Chatham site.
CKHA’s Medicine B Unit has been in an active C.diff outbreak since February 6th.
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.
As part of CKHA’s infection prevention and control guidelines, a number of additional initiatives have been implemented in response to the outbreak on the Medicine A Unit. CKHA will continue following these measures until CK Public Health rescinds the outbreak orders.