Link: CBC Montreal
Researchers in Montreal say they’ve cracked the genetic code of a strain of C. difficile that has been causing severe diarrhea outbreaks in Quebec.
The strain, responsible for infections at hospitals and nursing homes in Quebec, is similar to others found in the U.S. and Europe, the researchers said.Symptoms include severe diarrhea, fever and abdominal pain.
A virulent strain of C. difficile was blamed directly or indirectly for more than 200 deaths in hospitals in Montreal and Sherbrooke, Que., in the first six months of 2004.
Scientists at McGill University, G�nome Qu�bec Innovation Centre, McGill University Health Centre and Jewish General Hospital say they have successfully sequenced the genome of the virulent strain.
The researchers believe the discovery will make it easier to detect, prevent and treat the disease.
