Clostridium difficile Support

[chrismc]

Oh, my nose has the same ability.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/7156852/New-device-literally-smells-out-stomach-bugs.html
New device literally smells out stomach bugs
A device that sniffs out stomach bugs within minutes could save the NHS millions, it has been revealed

By Richard Alleyne, Science Correspondent
Published: 7:30AM GMT 05 Feb 2010

The OdoReader – developed by the University of Bristol and the University of the West of England – can rapidly diagnose Clostridium difficile, a common stomach bug that rapidly spreads around hospitals.

It causes so much disruption, especially among long stay patients, that it costs the health service more than £200m a year.


new device enables gases emitted from stool samples to be analysed in under an hour, leading to a "rapid and inexpensive" diagnosis.

Such early detection could reap real health benefits for millions of people and help prevent the spread of infectious disease, it is claimed.

Gastro-intestinal diseases afflict over four billion adults and children each year.

Delays in diagnosis can lead to patients being ill for longer. Some may die and infections can spread to other people.

In England and Wales there are over 50,000 cases of Clostridium difficile each year. The infection prolongs hospital stays and is associated with high mortality.

A £1.3 million award from the Wellcome Trust will fund a three-year programme of work starting in January 2010.
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The very first requirement in a hospital is that it should do the sick no harm - Florence Nightingale

[Catherine M]

Agree Chris. That smell is so specific that you'd have to have lost your sense of smell not to notice.

[roy]

This might sound daft but it would save those millions

TRAIN SNIFFER DOGS,
If a dog can be trained to sniff for drugs or explosives (and some say even for cancer), then why not train some to sniff out C.diff?
Instant testing!!!
Poor dog might catch the bug though

Roy