RATES of the potentially fatal hospital superbug Clostridium difficile vary widely across Scotland, figures revealed yesterday.
After the first year of mandatory surveillance of the infection, Health Protection Scotland (HPS) said 6,035 cases of C difficile in people over 65 had been reported between October 2006 and September 2007.
But rates of the infection were almost f
our times higher in some areas than others.
The report comes after The Scotsman revealed in June that Scotland was on track to exceed 6,000 cases of C difficile in the first year of official reporting.
The infection, which mainly affects older people and causes severe diarrhoea and other complications, has become a major concern across the UK.
HPS said the infection rate across Scotland was 1.27 cases per 1,000 occupied hospital beds for the elderly.
But the rate varied from only 0.46 cases per 1,000 bed days in the Borders to 1.17 cases in Dumfries and Galloway.
Dr John Cowden, an HPS consultant, said the variations were probably down to different parts of the country having differing numbers of people at greater risk of C difficile.
"A health board which has a greater proportion of vulnerable people may have a higher rate through no fault of their own because of the population they serve," he said.
"These areas face bigger challenges in treating these people."
Anne Eastaway, HPS's consultant microbiologist, said different testing procedures may also explain the variations. "It is very difficult to draw comparisons at this stage," she said.
Nicola Sturgeon, the health secretary, said "Now we know the scale of the challenge, we can target our efforts appropriately."
The full article contains 281 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
