Fresh air kills C Diff

Link: Sunderland City Hospital Announces Significant C. Difficile Reduction Rates After Eight Month Pilot Programme Study, UK.

As part of the infection control pilot programme, three wards, each containing 27 beds, were subjected to identical deep cleaning measures. Two of the wards were supplied with Air Disinfection devices and the patients given bio-yoghurt. These two wards revealed 76.7% and 90.9% reduction in the number of C. Diff isolates over the last year compared to only 44.8% reduction in the third ward.

Les Boobis, the Director of Infection and Prevention Control at Sunderland Hospital, says "We are very pleased with the initial results we have seen in the patient wards where the Air Disinfection technology has been deployed. C. Diff is a highly contagious and potentially life-threatening condition and through improving the air quality, and our continued vigilance with cleanliness, we appear to be achieving real reductions in our infection rates."

C. Diff infection can cause abdominal pain, fever and most commonly severe diarrhoea which can lead to dehydration and can potentially be fatal. Particularly associated with healthcare environments, C. Diff can extend a patient’s stay in some cases for more than a week and can be a challenge to accurately diagnose in the lab. This gastro-intestinal infection is extremely contagious and creates an unpleasant smell for both patients and nurses.