Tracking superbugs

The CBC is reporting today that Ontario hospitals will soon make reporting of superbugs like C. difficile mandatory.

Okay, that’s a start—albeit a late one, given that such reporting is already mandatory in hospitals in the U.S. and in Britain. But what about other Canadian provinces? It’s not only in Ontario that incidents of this superbug and others like it are rising in health-care settings, and we should all be concerned about this public health threat: Reporting should be mandatory across the country.

Until it is, handwashing by health care providers is key. (Britain has gone even further, banning doctors from wearing long sleeves on the job because of the possibility of the sleeves transferring infectious diseases.)

Look for an article that further explores this subject in a future issue of Best Health. Meantime, how concerned are you about infectious diseases in hospital settings?