CDC probes deadly bacteria’s connection to doctors’ offices

By Pedro Forte
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is warning that a potentially deadly bacteria may be hanging about in your doctor’s office. The bacteria is called C. difficile (C.diff) and is usually found in hospitals, but a recent study showed that a considerable number of people contracted the bug who were not in a hospital, but had recently visited their personal doctor or dentist.
A study conducted by a research team in Ohio revealed that C. diff was present in six out of seven outpatient clinics tested; C.diff was found on examining tables and chairs.
According to the CDC, the bacteria can cause deadly diarrhoea especially with the increase of other infections. Reports indicate nearly half a million Americans are infected in various locations in one year, with 15,000 deaths directly attributed to C. diff. The CDC has taken this so seriously, that they are beginning a new study to try to assess nationally whether people are getting C. diff in doctors’ offices.
The CDC is hopeful that the new study will be helpful in revealing the cause and effect; but there is a possibility that the patients had C. diff to begin with and went to the doctor to get help. There is also another possibility that antibiotics prescribed during the doctor’s visit, and not microbes at the doctor’s office, caused the infection.
Dr. Peter Pronovost who is a safety expert at the Johns Hopkins University, recommends asking your doctor if you really need an antibiotic, if there is a less powerful one that will treat your infection, and if you are being prescribed the antibiotic for the shortest time possible.
A CDC study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, said that 150,000 people who had not been in a hospital came down with C. diff in 2011. Of those, 82% had visited a doctor’s or dentist’s office in the 12 weeks before their diagnosis.
Dr. Cliff McDonald, a medical epidemiologist at the CDC said, “This is really an important issue. We need to understand better how people are getting C. diff.” In the interim, patients should wash their hands properly, after visiting the doctor’s office with soap and water instead of hand sanitizer. This is because alcohol-based gels do not get rid of C.diff.