• The trial results show that after 9.5 months of a BIOQUELL “implant” team being at the hospital there has been a statistically significant 53% year-on-year reduction in the number of new, hospital acquired Clostridium difficile cases for the months when the hyper-virulent strain was present in the hospital.
  
• The results of the BIOQUELL trial were presented at the SHEA (The Society of Healthcare Epidemiology of America) annual conference in Chicago, 18-21 March, 2006.

Commenting on the above, Nick Adams, Chief Executive of BIOQUELL, said:

“The results from this nine month trial using BIOQUELL’s technology in a US hospital are really encouraging. A statistically significant 53% reduction in new hospital-acquired Clostridium difficile infections is impressive – particularly when the hyper-virulent strain is known to be present. C.diff continues to cause major problems for healthcare providers throughout the world and we expect that these results will create significant interest from hospitals in the US and elsewhere.”

Enquiries:
Nick Adams / Mark Bodeker :
BIOQUELL PLC 01264 835 900

 
Notes to editors:

Clostridium difficile (“C.diff”) has been a long standing issue for healthcare providers and a new, hyper-virulent strain is causing major problems for hospitals in the UK, parts of Europe and 16 states in the US, where significantly increased sickness and death rates are being seen.

C.diff is a spore forming bacteria. Spore formers, including for example anthrax (Bacillus anthracis), are extremely tough and able to survive for years in the environment (including the hospital environment).

The alcohol handgels used in many hospitals as a key part of infection control are less effective against spore formers. In addition, the use of bleach cleaning does not eradicate C.diff from the hospital environment.

In 1978 it was discovered that C.diff was responsible for causing disease in patients in hospitals and hence was considered to be a hospital acquired infection or “superbug”.
In 2003 a new strain of C.diff appeared which: (i) was much more virulent - with hospitals experiencing significantly higher levels of sickness and death – and (ii) was significantly more resistant to certain classes of antibiotics. This new strain of C.diff, commonly referred to as BI/NAP1 or the 027 strain, was first identified in Canada and over the last two years appears to have spread to healthcare facilities down the East coast of the US. It has also been detected in the UK including, for example, at Stoke Mandeville Hospital earlier this year.

Data on the Health Protection Agency website suggests that 43,682 patients in NHS hospitals were found to have C.diff in 2004.