C. Diff. is "deadliest disease" in Ohio

From The Plain Dealer:

"The number of Ohioans dying from the intestinal bacteria known as C. diff jumped fourfold between 2000 and 2005, when the aggressive infection contributed to an estimated 785 deaths, Ohio Department of Health records show.

"Stunning new data from the agency shows C. diff infections rank among the deadliest infectious diseases in the state, and the toll may be greatest in Greater Cleveland. Data for 2005 is incomplete, but nearly one-third of the confirmed victims lived in the seven-county area.

ODH began examining death certificates in January. Deaths where C. diff was a main underlying cause quadrupled statewide, but the agency also found the numbers jumped substantially higher when C. diff was recorded as a contributing cause. By that measure, C. diff-related deaths jumped 20 percent between 2004 and 2005 estimates.

A superstrain of C. diff has been blamed for scores of deaths in Canada and Britain. The antibiotic-resistant strain has been confirmed in more than a dozen states, including Ohio. But no other state has compiled data to determine the toll, said Dr. Dale Gerding, a C. diff expert at Loyola University in Chicago."