Two die and six patients ill from rare hospital bug

Published on Saturday 17 May 2008 19:38

SIX patients were last night still being treated after being laid low by a rare and highly virulent bug which has struck hospitals in Glasgow and Aberdeen.

Two patients have died after contracting a form of Clostridium difficile. In both fatalities, the bug was said to be a contributory factor but not the main cause of death.

At Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, four patients were hit by the bug and one later died.

Five patients at Glasgow's Stobhill Hospital fell victim to the bug, one of whom died.

Officials at Health Protection Scotland (HPS) said lab tests had confirmed both "clusters" involved the virulent 027 strain of the bug but were unrelated.

Health bosses have written to health boards reinforcing advice on how to control the bug.

All the affected patients in Aberdeen are being cared for in isolation. One Glasgow patient is said to be fully recovered.

Strict infection-control procedures were being maintained at both hospitals to control the number of cases, said officials.

Anne Eastaway, consultant microbiologist at HPS, said: "The two clusters are unrelated and we are in regular contact with infection-control teams.

"We have previously seen a small number of isolated cases of this strain in Scotland."

She said a Clostridium difficile "reference laboratory" was recently established in Scotland. This helped identify more virulent strains, including Type 027, which might not have been picked up otherwise.

She said: "Everyone should play their part in helping to reduce the spread through regular hand-washing, and not going to hospitals when suffering from colds, flu, or viruses."

The patients in Glasgow and Aberdeen are believed to in a stable condition.