Drug hope in battle against deadly bug

A NEW antibiotic is launched today to treat a potentially deadly infection.

Around 27,000 people are each year affected by Clostridium difficile infection which claims as many as 3,000 lives annually.

Trials of the antibiotic fidaxomicin show the drug is as effective as existing therapies but more than halves recurrence rates.

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Medical microbiologist Prof Mark Wilcox, who works at hospitals in Leeds, said: “Fidaxomicin offers a real alternative for clinicians managing patients with C.diff infection and could help to ease pressure on bed capacity in hospitals because of the increased length of stay and potential cross infection risk associated with recurrent disease.”

Graziella Kontkowski, founder of the C.diff Support group, said: “The new treatment is a breakthrough for patients with C.diff but even more so for those suffering recurrences.”

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