Britain: New figures show spread of CD hospital superbug
By Sam Knight, Times Online

The full extent of how a deadly diarrhoea-inducing superbug has spread across Britain's hospital wards was revealed for the first time by the Government today.

Nearly 45,000 cases of Clostridium difficile (C difficile) infection were recorded in 2004 among patients over the age of 65 according to official figures released by the Department of Health.

The statistics are the first result of a new compulsory reporting scheme started by the DoH to track the rising infection rate. In the early 1990s there were just 1,000 cases of C difficile reported in the UK. In 2000, there were 20,000 cases.

C difficile, a tough bacteria that can cause fatal diarrhoea infections in the old and infirm, is among the most prolific and dangerous of the so-called superbugs that plague Britain's hospital wards.

the rest