Officials at Barrie's Royal Victoria Hospital are investigating whether any recent patient deaths can be linked to a virulent strain of C. difficile infection.
Since January, 43 people at the facility have been diagnosed with the bacterium.
"We're cross-referencing ... and we have to review to see what role C. difficile may have played in (the deaths)," Kirsten Krull-Naraj, chief nursing officer, told CTV's Janice Golding.
The hospital says the bug is aggressive, and the large spike in cases has led them to believe it may be the dangerous "Quebec" strain that killed 2,000 people in that province since 2003.
Samples have been sent to the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg.
Meanwhile, three new cases of C. difficile infection have been identified at Mississauga's Trillium Health Network, bringing their total number of current cases to 17.
"We're taking the same precautions that we've always taken," said hospital spokesperson Roula Giannidis Friday.
These precautions include keeping patients in private rooms, having anyone entering the room wear gloves and gowns as well as having people wash their hands as they enter or leave the room.
Similar efforts are reportedly in place at Scarborough Hospital's General Division where it was reported Wednesday that a small group of patients have been diagnosed with C. difficile. Their situation remains unchanged and officials there say the bacterium did not spread there from Mississauga and no one in Scarborough has died.
Five new cases have also been reported at Honore-Mercier Hospital near Montreal as of Wednesday. The hospital is already the subject of a coroner's inquest after 16 people died during a deadly outbreak last year.
According to reports, none of the patients at Honore-Mercier are currently being treated in the hospital's intensive care unit and one has even been released.
Out of four people at Trillium who tested positive for the bacterium after death, one was carrying the tough-to-beat strain, which wreaked havoc in Quebec.
Officials at Mississauga's Trillium Health Network have not been able to determine if C. difficile was responsible for the four recent deaths.
When asked if there was any concern that the number of those infected might increase at Trillium, Giannidis said that C. difficile is common in patients and that the number may go up or down.
Clostridium difficile is a common bacterium in hospitals. But in recent years, strains of the bug have become stronger and more resistant to antibiotics.
Last year, a committee set up by Ontario's chief coroner found that C. difficile was behind 10 deaths at a Sault Ste. Marie hospital. The committee investigated 26 deaths, which were thought to be related to the bacterial infection.
With a report from CTV's Janice Golding and files from The Canadian Press
