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Photo by Submitted / PNG

The dogs found C. diff scents in washrooms, on medical equipment, in linen carts, in hospital beds, in family waiting areas, in hospital staff lockers and even in places no one thought about, like inside toilet paper dispensers.

“Now we are thinking about whether this is a toilet paper dispenser design issue that needs to be fixed or whether it’s the quality of the toilet paper or both,” Bryce said, noting that apparently when people with contaminated hands reach into the dispenser to pull the tissue down, they leave bacteria on the surface.

“The results highlight the impact of cross-transmission not only by health care workers but also by patients and the public,” the study says.

Medical equipment and other clutter stashed in hallways accounted for over half the alerts, “emphasizing the importance of decluttering to permit effective cleaning,” Bryce said

After the dogs sniff out the superbug, ultraviolet light robots are brought in to do quick disinfection. The light kills antibiotic-resistant germs like C. diff.

Although hospital officials are careful not to make a direct link, the latest data shows there were 45 new cases of C. diff infection in the Vancouver Coastal Health region in the third quarter of 2018, and that’s the lowest number for any quarter in the past five years, says spokeswoman Carrie Stefanson.

Angus, Dodger and their handlers are so good at their jobs that they’ve been asked to work in dozens of hospitals, even in Ontario. They have also been contracted to work in hospitals in the Fraser Health region. A third dog named Rudy is in training and may be used for another superbug — to sniff out MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus).