Dogs trained to detect potentially deadly super bug in BC hospitals
VANCOUVER — Arti and Anton are the newest floppy-eared members of a team of canine detectives trained to sniff out dangerous bacteria in British Columbia hospitals, where it can easily spread among vulnerable patients.
The two-year-old Springer Spaniels recently graduated from training and joined Fancy, Traveler and Angus on the Canines for Care scent detection program aimed at reducing rates of C. difficile in Vancouver and beyond.
Teresa Zurberg, who leads the program for Vancouver Coastal Health, said the hunting breed of quadrupeds can smell the slightest presence of C. difficile on surfaces and equipment long before it comes across as “overcooked broccoli” to human noses in the presence of infected patients polluted with diarrhoea.
Health Canada says C. difficile is the most common cause of infectious diarrhea in hospitals and care homes in many industrialized countries, including Canada.
The potentially deadly bacteria is found in feces. People can become infected when they touch contaminated surfaces and then their mouths. C. difficile can spread if a sick person hasn’t washed their hands or if caregivers don’t change their gloves regularly.
Those most at risk include the elderly and those with serious underlying conditions who take certain antibiotics, which over a long period of time can destroy normal gut bacteria and cause C. difficile to take over and produce toxins. This damages the intestine and leads to diarrhoea. In some cases, C. difficile can cause life-threatening intestinal perforation or sepsis.
Zurberg said a dog with a handler regularly screens units for C. difficile at Vancouver General Hospital and covers the entire facility in a month, while screenings at four other area hospitals are conducted every six to eight weeks.
She said about 10 percent of dogs from a large pool of applicants usually end up shortlisted to be considered for up to eight months of training, but only a few four-legged friends make the final selection for a job that requires the right temperament. .
Two weeks ago, 12-week-old cocker spaniels Disco and Kip were the latest to try for a chance to become certified C. difficile detectors.
Their goal, when they graduate from the program, will be to hunt the C. difficile scent by sweeping a unit in about 15 minutes, Zurberg said. A reward – a toy or a treat like a cookie or dehydrated meat – is the great motivator.
She said there is no faster way to find C. difficile on equipment or elsewhere in a hospital setting than to let the four-legged detectives do their job, otherwise it would take days to track down the bacteria and grow it in a lab .
“C. diff is a bit of a diva bacteria. It’s hard to grow and it’s hard to kill.”
The former medic in the Canadian Forces contracted C. difficile herself in 2013 after a leg infection for which she took antibiotics. She developed sepsis and still has health problems from the so-called superbug.
“I lost 20 pounds in a week. It was horrible.”
That experience sparked Zurberg’s passion to help reduce C. difficile in hospitals.
To date, the Vancouver General-based dog teams she began leading seven years ago, now with nine-year-old dog Angus as the first recruit, have worked in 29 hospitals across British Columbia. The canines ventured to three hospitals in Ottawa in 2019, but the pandemic halted any possible expansion of the program.
Authors of an observational paper published that year in the Canadian Journal of Infection Control rated the program as successful based on 18 months of data from Vancouver General. They include Zurberg, a microbiologist and epidemiologist from Vancouver Coastal Health, as well as a researcher from the University of British Columbia medical school.
Their findings showed that 56 percent of C. difficile cases were detected in hospital corridors, suggesting that such areas should be cleared so they can be better cleaned.
The paper also said 18 percent of detections related to aisle carts and items on them. The carts typically carry medicines, wound dressings and personal protective equipment, including coats for staff.
The dogs also sniffed C. difficile in staff lounges and lockers, on items near patients’ beds and in public restrooms.
Dr. Marthe Charles, chief of the Vancouver Coast Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention and Control Department, said just seeing the dogs on wards helps staff and patients remember to wash their hands.
The drive to reduce infections also includes using the right antibiotics for the right amount of time, as well as better cleaning to specifically target C. difficile, she said.
“We clean the areas and then we go with the dog to see if there is a reservoir that we may have overlooked or that still has C. difficile. So once the dog has identified that area, we clean it up.
“C. difficile has the ability to survive on surfaces because it protects itself in tiny spores,” Charles said, adding that multiple studies have shown the spores can live for days or even months.
“The dogs really help us visualize what are the points of interest to look out for that could be part of a chain of transmission.”
Charles said one of the most notable outbreaks of C. difficile in Canada happened nearly 20 years ago in 30 Quebec hospitals, when the number of infections increased fivefold.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on July 17, 2023.
Canadian Press health coverage is supported by a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
