Hospital superbug on rise despite campaigns

London Daily Telegraph ^ | july 24th, 2007 | DancesWithCats

[DancesWithCats]

Around 60,000 people could be infected this year with the most widespread hospital superbug despite campaigns to tackle the problem, new figures out today show.In the first three months of this year 15,592 people over the age of 65 were infected with Clostridium difficile, a two per cent rise on the same period last year. The bug takes hold in the guts of patients who have been given antibiotics and causes thousands of deaths. There were a total of 55,634 cases of C.Diff in 2006.

The new figures from the Health Protection Agency show rates of the other major health care associated infection, MRSA, are dropping.

There was a 6.4 per cent fall in the three months up to March 2007, with a total of 1,444 bloodstream infections reported in England compared with 1,542 in the last quarter. The full-year data shows there has been a 10 per cent drop in the number of MRSA cases.

Between April 2006 and March 2007, 6,378 cases of MRSA were reported, compared with 7,096 for the previous year.

[DancesWithCats]

This is a frightening complication of a hospital stay. Between this and pneumonia ... sheeeesh. I know two people who developed this horrible thing from hospital stays. Fortunately, eventually, the antibiotic IVs killed the thing, but not before MUCH flesh and muscle was excised. Horrible.

[Freedom'sWorthIt]

Not a good report on this superbug - but did you read the entire article???? And Hillary, Obama, and Edwards plus Kennedy, Pelosi, Reid, etc all want the US healthcare system to become socialized, run by the government?????

"The new figures from the Health Protection Agency show rates of the other major health care associated infection, MRSA, are dropping."

"Between April 2006 and March 2007, 6,378 cases of MRSA were reported, compared with 7,096 for the previous year. advertisement.....The biggest falls have been in large acute teaching hospitals and in London."

"Last week the Chief Medical Officer, in his annual report, highlighted the need for patients to challenge their doctors to wash their hands."

"It also found trusts with protected time for staff to concentrate on infection control had lower rates of infection.

But the target culture was a hindrance. Forty-five per cent of trusts said that they had difficulties managing the risk of such infection with the target for treating patients in accident and emergency quickly."

Twenty-nine per cent of trusts cited difficulties in reconciling control of infection and targets for waiting lists."

Managing healthcare by means of "targets" for treating patients in emergencies quickly.....and for waiting lists???

Dear GOD please help us stop the Socialists from taking full power in this country1!!

[DancesWithCats]

I still can’t see me ‘challenging’ my doctor to wash his hands! What a scenario that would be ...

[Freedom'sWorthIt]

Yep - that and the "targets" for treatment for getting people seen in an emergency, etc.

Sickening.......

[SunkenCiv]

Ping!

[Scythian]

Allimax kills MRSA folks, no prescription needed, 1000 times more broad spectrum than anti-biotics. Don't trust the medical folks, it's in thier facilities that the superbug lives and they have no cure (though one exists). The are stupid, as in plain ol'

[Freedom'sWorthIt]

What is allimax?

[listenhillary]

Garlic

Too bad they can’t create a web page that doesn’t suck.

http://www.allimax.us/products.php

[KoRn]

Hell, my wife and I work in a hospital, and hearing things like this gives me the creeps. I don’t work with patients, being in IT, but I’m still breathing the same air(they say the air completely changes every hour, but I don’t believe it). My wife works in the OB department, so she isn’t exposed to sick people. It’s still scary though, especially having young children at home.

[Freedom'sWorthIt]

Very interesting about Allimax - thanks for the link. Never heard of it before. Would like to know individuals who have actually been helped by this product. Am still not converted to “alternative medicine”.......but have an open mind.

[DancesWithCats]

It’s still scary though, especially having young children at home.

My sister works as a nurse in Telley (Telemetry ... cardiac unit). A coworker was stabbed in the leg with the hypodermic needle just used on a wacko AIDS patient and now has to wait years to find out if she's been infected. Hospitals. Scary places indeed, for lots of different reasons. I've had complications as well from hospital stays and THAT makes ya' dang angry! (UTI ... very very common complaint after a hospital stay but can develop into something you really DO NOT want!)

[KoRn]

A hospital is one of the worst places for a well or a sick person to be! I wouldn’t stay in a hospital unless I was near death... wait... I WORK IN ONE! LOL!!

My office is just a few doors down from the morgue to boot. haha

[DancesWithCats]

I agree 100%! the last time they told me I had to go back in to the hospital, I fled for my life! I had 3 different doctors calling me on my cell phone and arguing that I HAD to go in! I fought back until I had a promise that it would only be for ONE night ... get all the tests done you want, but you’ve only got ONE night. The one dr was great about keeping his word and I was home by 11:00 the next morning. Whew. Still, a horrible experience, even if short-lived! LOL