Several cases of C. difficile infection have been identified in two separate outbreaks in the Greater Toronto Area, with one of the bacterial strains being linked to a deadly variant that killed sufferers in Quebec.
CTV News learned Wednesday that a small group of patients at Scarborough Hospital's General Division have been diagnosed with C. difficile.
"There are probably three people in the house who have this, (are) getting better or still quite symptomatic," infection control manager Joanne Braithwaite said Wednesday.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, 14 patients at a Mississauga hospital were identified as having the infection. Out of four people who tested positive for the bacterium after death, one was carrying the tough-to-beat strain which wrecked 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.
In response to this recent outbreak, officials at Trillium have implemented a plan to "minimize" the number of infections and reduce the chances of spreading the bacterium.
Similar efforts are reportedly in place at Scarborough General. Officials there say the bacterium did not spread there from Mississauga and no one in Scarborough has died.
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.
In recent years, hospitals in Quebec have struggled with numerous outbreaks. As recently as December, a person died in a Montreal-area facility due to C. difficile bacteria, bringing the toll at Honore-Mercier hospital to 16.
The Quebec government ordered a coroner's inquest into the deaths. An internal report at the hospital cited poor hygiene for the outbreak.
