The Cape Breton District Health Authority is reporting the outbreak of a potentially fatal and highly contagious form of bacteria is over.
Visiting restrictions are no longer in place at Cape Breton hospitals affected by an outbreak of Clostridium Difficile.
The authority put general visitor restrictions and precautions in place across the district in March in response to an increased number of hospital-acquired cases of C. difficile.
C. difficile causes a multitude of problems with respect to infections of the intestine and can lead to episodes of nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain.
It's one of the most common infections found in hospitals and care facilities and is often resistant to antibiotics, which makes it very difficult to treat successfully. One in five patients who undergo a regime of antibiotics and appear to recover relapse just a few days after treatment.
Elderly patients who are already battling serious illnesses are especially vulnerable to the bacteria
The district has lifted the restrictions after reaching a seven-day period with no new cases of the superbug. There are currently 13 patients in district hospitals with a confirmed hospital-acquired case of C. difficile.
While the outbreak is considered to be over, some restrictions will remain in place for rooms holding patients with C. difficile, as well as patients who are isolated and awaiting test results for the bacteria.
The district says it's fairly common to see an average of three cases per month, but what made the recent outbreak unusual was the increased number of cases over a short period of time and the severity of the bacteria.
It says staff will continue to work on containing C. difficile by maintaining infection prevention and control practices and enhanced cleaning in some patient rooms, clinical areas and on some equipment.
C. difficile has been identified as a contributing factor by the health authority in the deaths of at least five patients with underlying medical issues.
