Pat's Note: This extremely interesting article from Australia, gives a
good insight into much of the confusion surrounding this disease and
rightly emphasises the apparent escape of Australia from this
worldwide epidemic despite having PCV2.

There is no mention of events in Britain, no doubt reflecting the
disinclination of both the government and veterinary industries to
talk much about the problem in public.

There is nothing on the mode of movement of the more virulent strain
between countries and continents. Traditionally Australia, New
Zealand, Britain and North America tend to stress infected meat as
this goes down well with the farming lobby.

New Zealand, having two islands, with a different strain in each (and
I think a ban of the movement on live pigs between the two) is a vast
real life lab that tends to exonerate meat, cooked or raw as a means
of transmission. That, together with Australia's apparent escape and
the dates of spread through Europe and North America should be more
closely examined. It is pointless and damaging to slam the wrong door.

The government are currently congratulating themselves on the
improvement in MRSA rates.

So the crisis is over?

Quite aside from the Conservatives and Liberals tearing the figures
apart, this in no way impacts upon MRSA in pigs and the dangers. The
devil, as always, is in the detail.

This from our local hospital today:

“"The Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital reported just one case
of the superbug, compared to 10 in the same period last yearÂ…

Nick Coveney, director of nursing and patient services at the JPUH,
said: “Our performance between April and June 2008 is an outstanding
achievement, our best ever, and since March 23 there have been no
hospital attributable cases of MRSA bacteraemia."”

So, no “hospital attributable” cases since March. On the assumption
that the figures are accurate and properly presented, thatÂ’s good.

But there is nothing about cases coming in from outside the hospital
system. They do not comment and that is disturbing.

Pat's Note: No mention of pigs in the final part.

Just to remind you "a virulent new form" of C.Diff (027) is found in
pigs and Ontario, like Quebec has had a circovirus epidemic in its
pigs for some years.

MRSA st398 was found in both the people, pigs and pork in Canada.

http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/437107

Not good enough

C. difficile deaths; FIFTH OF A FIVE-PART SERIES

September 18, 2008
Lee Prokaska
The Hamilton Spectator
(Sep 18, 2008)
The Dalton McGuinty government has failed in the fight against a
virulent new form of superbug C. difficile.

The province has failed to get to the root of the problem, which has
been linked to at least 460 deaths at 22 hospitals in two years. How
many deaths at the rest of Ontario's 157 hospitals may be related to
C. diff?

Pat's Note: On a day when Gordon Brown is crowing over a reduction in
MRSA deaths, the figures questioned by the main MRSA charities, and
the newsppapers are reporting a big increase in C.Diff deaths
especially in Scotland, Canada reports on Britain.

http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/437071

How other countries fight C. diff

Out of Control - Part 5 of a 5 part series

September 18, 2008
Joan Walters
The Hamilton Spectator
(Sep 18, 2008)

Outside Ontario, rising death and infection rates from a vicious new
strain of the superbug C. difficile have prompted governments to call
inquiries, impose fines, offer incentives and take other action to
bring the disease under control.

In the United States, Medicare officials asked this summer for public
comment on a plan to hold back payments to hospitals for the extra
care required for patients harmed by certain preventable infections --
including C. diff.

In article maus.org>, greymausg@mail.com
(greymaus) wrote:

I continue to be impressed by the Canadians. They are being hit by
human and animal epidemics from all angles, many of them really
serious.

Led by The Hamilton Spectator, their media are slamming into the
health authorities. They simply will not be brushed aside.

Were it the same in Britain!

Look closely at this exchange in respect of the current Listeria
outbreak.

This is a provincial paper, not a national and they certainly donÂ’t
crawl round the authorities like our poor apologies for a free press.

Our lot merely publish puff and press releases when slumped across
their desks in an afternoon alcohol daze. (I was taught by a New York
tabloid journalist resident in London always to make sure my press
releases hit British journalists after lunch, when they were just
about capable of writing an original headline!)

Sub standard sycophants dreaming of gongs and scared of upsetting
their advertisers with anything the least bit controversial.

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http://eleconnec.blogspot.com/

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Pat's Note: As part of its exposure of C.Diff in Canada, the Hamilton
Spectator has also published today a brief history of its spread in
North America complete with map. It should not be confused with the
main five article series despite the label.

http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/436519

C. difficile in North America

...Out of Control - Part 4 of a 5 part series

September 17, 2008
The Hamilton Spectator
(Sep 17, 2008)
Clostridium difficile was first identified in 1935 when researchers
discovered the rod-shaped bacterium in the stool of a healthy infant.
They...

Pat's Note: The Hamilton Spectator is currently setting new standards
of journalism in publishing a very long detailed exposure of the
current C.Diff epidemic in Canada. The individual articles are far too
long to reproduce here.

They have yet to mention any possible link to their PMWS epidemic in
pigs.

They do know about it.

It could come in the final article

http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/436452

Pittsburgh: C. diff's ground zero

..That outbreak in 2000 marked the fatal NAP1 strain's arrival in
North America. Its rapid spread and the severe toll it took on its
victims shocked experts. FOURTH OF A FIVE-PART SERIES

Not only that,they will expose your private information,and then add
more false information to US companies trying to find exporters in
China.Just go to www.worldbydata.com and you will see the plethora of
viruses your AV detects.