'Scandalous' rise in C.diff deaths

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Figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed the number of death certificates in England and Wales which mentioned the C.diff infection rose from 3,757 in 2005 to 6,480 in 2006, a rise of 72%.

Critics said the increase was "unacceptable" and called for a "comprehensive infection control strategy".

Charlotte Potter, senior policy officer at Help the Aged, said: "Allowing C difficile to survive at these scandalous levels is akin to taking a scythe to some of the most ill and vulnerable people in our society - older people are at far greater risk of infection than most."

And the National Concern for Health Care Infections, a patient orientated body, expressed little optimism about the prevalence of C.diff on death records. Referring to the statistics, Chairman Graham Tanner said: "Each one of those figures represents a person and each one of those figures represents a family deprived of a lost one.

"We know there's an under-reporting of C.diff on medical records at death. Doctors would prefer to use expressions like 'multi organ failure' instead of putting down Clostridium difficile as a contributing factor."

Despite this, deaths involving the bug, which has been on the increase in the UK for several years, have seen a rise among both the male and female populations.

The disease, which is most prevalent among the elderly, can cause diarrhoea, ranging from a mild disturbance to a very severe illness. The more acute forms result in ulceration, bleeding from the colon and perforation of the intestine which can lead to fatal peritonitis.

Mortality rates for deaths involving C.diff have now increased by 77% among males, and 66% among females, between 2005 and 2006. Rates went up from 37 to 65.5 per million males, and from 38.6 to 64.2 per million females.

Shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley said: "These shocking figures reflect the full scale of the human cost of C.diff infection. The overall scale of infection is unacceptable and the need for a comprehensive infection control strategy, including improved antibiotic prescribing and access to isolation facilities, hand hygiene and cleanliness is paramount."