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Bacteria Cause
Of Deaths At San Juan de Dios Hospital
Although most in the country are concerned
about contacting the AH1N1 virus,
responsible for one death so far, a
dangerous bacteria has caused the death of
several patients at the San Juan de Dios
hospital, in San Jose, and the cause of
contamination of an unspecified number over
the last three months.
Health officials were have denied giving out
information on the situation, however, four
doctors at the hospital told the Spanish
language daily, La Nación, on the condition
of anonymity that the deaths are from an
infection of the bacteria Clostridium
Difficile.
The doctors said that various areas of the
hospital are infected with the
microorganism, which causes severe diarrhea,
fever, vomiting and perforates the intestine
Rosa Climent, medical director of the Caja
Costarricense del Seguro Social (CCSS),
confirmed yesterday that there are infected
at the hospital, but would not say how many
or provide details, nor confirm any
fatalities, saying only that the bacteria
can be fatal.
The director passed the buck, saying that
the confirmation of fatalities was up to the
hospital's medical director.
However, doctors at the hospital say that
dozens have people have been infected with
the bacteria in the last three months.
According to Wikiepedia, Clostridium
difficile (Greek kloster (κλωστήρ), spindle,
and Latin difficile, also known as "CDF/cdf",
or "C. diff", is a species of Gram-positive
bacteria of the genus Clostridium.
Clostridia are anaerobic, spore-forming rods
(bacillus). C. difficile is the most serious
cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhea (AAD)
and can lead to pseudomembranous colitis, a
severe infection of the colon, often
resulting from eradication of the normal gut
flora by antibiotics.
The C. difficile bacteria, which naturally
reside in the body, become overgrown: The
overgrowth is harmful because the bacterium
releases toxins that can cause bloating,
constipation, and diarrhea with abdominal
pain, which may become severe. Latent
symptoms often mimic some flu-like symptoms.
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