Patients’ group calls for superbug guidelines to be mandatory

A PATIENTS’ advocacy group has called for new guidelines on the prevention and control of the potentially fatal superbug Clostridium difficile (C diff) to be made mandatory.

Figures published by the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) show that around 40 patients are being diagnosed every week with C diff, but the scale of the problem is expected to grow as two health regions have yet to provide figures to the state’s public health watchdog.

The HPSC was unable to say if any of the 101 patients diagnosed with the superbug in recent weeks died directly as a result of contracting the disease.