Antibiotic offers hope in hospital bug battle

A NEW antibiotic that was trialled in Yorkshire could help stem the spread of a notorious hospital bug by preventing recurrent infections, research suggests.

Almost 27,000 cases of the Clostridium difficile (C. diff) infection were reported in the UK last year, while figures for 2010 show C. diff caused 2,704 deaths.

The bug, which can spread quickly and easily through contact with infected patients or contaminated surfaces and may even be spread through the air during bed making, mostly afflicts people with weakened immune systems and is a significant problem in hospitals and nursing homes.

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Up to a quarter of patients affected by C. diff infection (CDI) become re-infected within a month of being treated.

The new drug, fidaxomicin, which was trialled in York Hospital and Barnsley General Hospital, works as well against C. diff as the “gold standard” treatment vancomycin, the study showed but compared with vancomycin, it more than halved the rate of recurrent infection.

The Phase III trial led by Professor Oliver Cornely, from University Hospital Cologne in Germany, compared 509 patients who were given vancomycin or fidaxomicin.

Commenting on the findings published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal, consultant microbiologist Prof Robert Masterton, from NHS Ayrshire and Arran, said: “What is not well understood by the public is that CDI naturally has a high relapse rate and this in turn is associated with prolonged hospital stays, an increased risk of death and a considerable burden on NHS budgets.

“This new treatment, fidaxomicin, offers a major step forward in combating the prevalence and impact of this disease.”

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