North York General Hospital is battling a "very mild" outbreak of C. difficile, said a hospital spokesperson. The outbreak, affecting three patients, occurred Dec. 23, said Marcelo Gomez-Wiuckstern, director of communications and public affairs.
One unit is closed and is in the process of being cleaned up, Gomez-Wiuckstern said, adding the unit is expected to reopen Wednesday, Jan. 4.Gomez-Wiuckstern could not provide the ages or genders of the affected patients. This is the first outbreak of C. difficile at the Hwy. 401 and Leslie Street hospital in at least 26 years, he said.According to Health Canada, Clostridium difficile, commonly called C. difficile, is a bacterium that causes diarrhea and other serious intestinal conditions. It is the most common cause of infectious diarrhea in hospitalized patients in the industrialized world.