EIGHT patients at a hospital where two people died after contracting Clostridium difficile have tested positive for the infection, health chiefs said today.
NHS Grampian said the outbreak was contained to two wards at Dr Gray's hospital in Elgin, which it has closed to new admissions.
Two elderly patients who had the infection died at the hospital last month.
The health board said C diff was a main cause of death in one of the patients and a contributory factor in the second death.
There have been a total of 17 confirmed cases of C diff at Dr Gray's since April 1.
An outbreak control team has been set up and is carrying out infection control measures, such as deep cleaning the wards.
NHS Grampian said the condition of the eight patients was "not giving cause for concern", but both wards would remain shut until patients had been symptom-free for 48 hours.
Some other patients in the hospital have tested positive for norovirus, which causes vomiting and diarrhoea.
"The outbreak control team will meet daily to monitor the situation and oversee the measures put in place to control the infection," an NHS Grampian spokesman said.
"The hospital team at Dr Gray's has dedicated staff to support the patients affected, and to ensure that control measures are implemented meticulously."
Meanwhile, First Minister Alex Salmond has faced calls to widen an inquiry into deaths linked to the C diff bug at the Vale of Leven Hospital in West Dunbartonshire.
Highlands and Islands MSP Rhoda Grant wants the inquiry to cover the deaths at Dr Gray's and those of two patients earlier this year at Balfour Hospital in Kirkwall, which were also linked to the infectious disease.
During First Minister's Questions in Holyrood today, Ms Grant said: "Can I ask the First Minister if he'll extend this inquiry to cover the whole of Scotland?"
Mr Salmond told her the terms of reference were still to be determined by the inquiry judge, Lord Coulsfield.
The full article contains 341 words and appears in scotsman.com newspaper.
