Superbug Death Was 'Diabolical' (C-diff)

The Telegraph (UK) ^ | 3-31-2007 | Laura Donnelly - jasper Copping

[blam]

Superbug death was 'diabolical'

By Laura Donnelly and Jasper Copping, Sunday Telegraph
Last Updated: 11:25pm BST 31/03/2007

The widow of a man who fell victim to a superbug that has claimed 17 lives at a Norfolk hospital yesterday described his death as "diabolical".

Great-grandfather Leslie Burton-Pye, 74, was infected with Clostridium difficile in January while visiting the James Paget Hospital in Gorleston for a blood transfusion. He fell ill soon after and was admitted to the hospital where he stayed until released in mid-March. He was re-admitted last Sunday and died the next day.

Yesterday, his widow, Mavis, 67, said: "I wish I hadn't let him go in for the transfusion. He had health problems before then but he lived with them and was okay up to the point where he went to hospital. It is heartbreaking." Mrs Burton-Pye, who lived with her husband in the Norfolk Broads town of Acle, added: "He had just gone into hospital for some blood and picked this bug up. It is absolutely diabolical that he caught this thing on just a routine visit. I just can't believe he has gone. It won't sink in."

tShe said Mr Burton-Pye's family - including five children, nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren - had been devastated by his death.

Bosses at the hospital, which has been infected with the virulent "027" strain of the superbug, admit it could take 12 weeks to get the outbreak under control. The 17 deaths, almost all of people aged 65 and over, have occurred since December. Sixteen more patients have been infected but survived.

The hospital has invested an extra £400,000 to tackle the outbreak but Wendy Slaney, the acting chief executive of the hospital, said it could take months to bring under control.

[Jagman]

Gee, maybe John Edwards can take some time off from campaigning to provide the "voice" of Leslie Burton-Pye in the soon-to-be multi-billion dollar lawsuit, just as he did for that little girl he so memorably channeled...

[BallyBill]

My wife had me look this affliction up the other week. She thought a patient she was caring for may have been suffering from it. Thankfully it turned out to be a false alarm.

[BallyBill]

I should've added that they thought she picked it up after a hospital visit also.

[StormEye]

I've heard that British hospitals aren't that clean.
Anybody here have first-hand knowledge about them?

[Still Thinking]

Well, their "medicine" is socialized, so I'd be surprised if their standards of cleanliness or anything else were up to par.

[ScudBud]

One of my three dogs has a form of Clostridium. It was described to me as an incurable parasitic infection of the digestive tract, causing tissue to become necrotic. The only way to control it for me has been through a trial and error method of finding the foods most likely to avoid a flare up. The poor dog at his worst was 45 pounds (he's an english setter)and diagnosing the problem was a long and frustrating process. I went through being accused of starving him, to maybe he had anorexia, because he refused food knowing the pain would follow. He has not had any trouble for over a year now, weighs in at 65 pounds, and is bright eyed and bushy tailed. Necrotic clostridium can affect any mammal, and it is really bad news!

[blam]

"He has not had any trouble for over a year now, weighs in at 65 pounds, and is bright eyed and bushy tailed. Necrotic clostridium can affect any mammal, and it is really bad news!"

Thanks for the news on the dogs. To see mine, click on my name.

[bullfeather]

yes. no separate rooms, just open barrack style. about 20 patients per room. There are individual rooms for special patients($ /insurance) or isolation. this was about 8 years ago.

[Born Conservative]

Sounds like a different form of Clostridium.

Clostridium Difficile doesn't cause necrosis, and it isn't a parasite; it's a bacteria whose toxin causes gastroenteritis (although this can be serious or even life threatening in SOME individuals).

Keep in mind that Clostridium is the genus of bacteria, with several different subspecies (other species include C. Botulinum, which causes botulism, and C. Tetani, which causes tetanus).