A bacterium known as Clostridium Difficile or C. Diff, which causes a drug-resistant virulent infection of the stomach, has been found to be 20 times more common than previously thought, according to a large survey of U.S. hospitals and health care centers.

Thirteen out of one thousand patients are infected with C. diff, say surveys by about 650 U.S. acute care and other centers, reported the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) on Thursday.

The figures are between 6.5 and 20 times higher than previous estimates of the bacteria’s occurrence; the bug has been associated with overuse of antibiotics and improper hygiene in hospital rooms, according to William R. Jarvis, lead author of the study that made the findings.

“Hopefully this will be a wake-up call about the importance of preventing this organism,” said Jarvis, who used to be a private consultant involved in fighting hospital centers at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

There may be, on average, more than 7,000 infections and 300 deaths in U.S. hospitals related to C. diff on any given day. Problems range from severe diarrhea and colitis to blood poisoning and death.

The study by APIC was the largest and most comprehensive of its kind, as other studies have been limited to a single hospital or state. Previous studies had suggested around 520,000 infections and 30,000 deaths a year from the bacteria. This is far lower than APIC suggests.

Nobody disputes that the occurrence of C. diff is increasing, and it’s far more widespread than before. Environmental hygiene is of the essence if the bacteria are going to be controlled. Proper hand hygiene for staff, patients and visitors as well as wiping equipment between uses must also be emphasized. Bleach can effectively be used to kill the bacteria. On the patients’ end, abuse of antibiotics must be avoided in order to prevent the battery evolving tolerance.