Intestinal bacteria blamed for three deaths in south of Finland
Hospitals in Helsinki area prepare for more cases
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A new form of intestinal bacteria, which has been around for several years in different countries, has been found in Finland for the first time, and is being blamed for the deaths of at least three people.
The patients, all in the south of Finland, died from the aggressive variant 027 of the Clostridium difficile bacteria.
The first case was diagnosed in Porvoo last week when an otherwise healthy middle-aged man died of the disease. It was the first time that the bacteria was isolated in Finland.
After a retroactive examination of 100 bacterial samples in the Helsinki and Uusimaa Hospital District (HUS), it was revealed that two elderly people had died in May of the same disease in the Tammisaari area.
The 027 strain has caused epidemics in different countries since 2003 in the United States and Canada, and since 2004 in Britain, The Netherlands, Belgium, and France. One case has also been reported in Austria.
Those infected are usually elderly people.
The milder version of Clostridium difficile is the most common cause of diarrhoea related to the taking of antibiotics.
"The new strain produces a much greater amount of intestinal toxins than the previous one", says HUS Head Physician Ville Valtonen.
The new strain almost always breaks out in a patient receiving antibiotics. The patient who died in Porvoo had been treated for a urinary tract infection.
No connection has been found that would link those who died in Finland. Research Professor Petri Ruutu of the National Public Health Institute said that the two patients who died in the Tammisaari area had been treated in the same places but at different times.
Fighting outbreaks is made more difficult by the fact that it is not easy to distinguish between a Clostridium difficile infection and ordinary diarroeah.
Experts emphasise that there is a cheap and effective medicine against the disease. In more difficult cases, combinations of drugs are used. Patients in immediate danger of death might have to have their colon removed.
Experiences in other countries have shown that Clostridium difficile epidemics can be overcome. The mortality rate is estimated at between 10 and 20 per cent.
Ville Valtonen says that the most typical cases involve infections in hospitals. In hospital wards and other treatment institutions, the disease can spread from one patient to another.
The spores of the bacteria pass from unwashed hands through the mouth into the intestines, where they multiply.
The alcohol in hand disinfectants does not kill the spores, which is why washing the hands with soap after going to the toilet and before eating is important.
Valtonen hopes that people will not start shying away from antibiotics out of fear of Clostridium difficile.
"Unnecessary use of antibiotics should be avoided, but if there is a good reason to use them, they should be used."
The threatened mass resignations by nurses is seen as a potential disaster for hospital infections. Hospital activities are already being reduced, treatment queues are growing longer, and the flu season, with its need for antibiotic treatment, is coming close.
"In the worst situation, everything will coincide", Valtonen says.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 2.11.2007 - TODAY |
 Intestinal bacteria blamed for three deaths in south of Finland |
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