10/04/2008

HSE to publish Superbug Report

The HSE is due to publish its report into the outbreak of clostridium difficile superbug in an Irish hospital, which claimed 15 lives.

The outbreak took place Ennis Hospital in Co Clare last year and caused a storm of controversy over the spread of the deadly bug.

The report was commissioned following the 15 deaths in the hospital during the outbreak in the first six months of 2007.

C-diff was found in the bodies of all patients, but the HSE's investigation has reportedly found that none of them died as a direct result of the infection.

In some cases, however, it has been quoted as a contributory factor

In a statement last night, the HSE said it was contacting patients and families affected by C-diff and insisted there was no issue with the superbug in Ennis at present.

The bug is well known to the medical industry and has a habit of turning up in Hospitals. The bug has appeared as far a field as Canada, Atlanta, the UK and Holland.

(DW/JM)


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