Three die after catching new C. diff strain in Scotland

New strains of C. diff do emerge but this is the first published report of ribotype 332

Three patients in Scotland have died after catching a new strain of the Clostridium difficile (C.diff) bug.

All three were in the same health board area and two of the patients were in the same hospital.

Health Protection Scotland (HPS) said it had identified a novel C.diff strain, designated ribotype 332.

HPS said the deaths were the first reported cases in the UK and worldwide and that health officials had been put on alert.

The first two cases emerged in December 2012 and January 2013 and the third was identified in another hospital last month.

'No link'

An HPS spokesman said: "All three cases were severely ill due to other underlying conditions and died following their episode of CDI (C. difficile infection).

"Other than the shared ribotype, no link has been identified between the cases from the separate hospitals."

HPS said it had alerted clinicians and laboratory staff throughout Scotland.

The spokesman said that the identification of a novel ribotype did not require immediate changes to surveillance or antibiotics use and that the same infection prevention and control measures applied.

HPS added that new ribotypes have emerged frequently during the past 10 years.