C. difficile Transmission Update: 5 Things to Know

C. difficile infections area top issues in infection control and gastroenterology. Two recent studies examined C. difficile epidemiology and sources of transmission, according to a Medscape report.

The two studies are titled "Diverse Sources of C. difficile Infection Identified on Whole-Genome Sequencing" and "Use of Multilocus Variable Number of Tandem Repeats Analysis Genotyping to Determine the Role of Asymptomatic Carriers of Clostridium difficile Transmission."

The first study found:

•    38 percent of patients with related isolates came into close hospital contact with another patient
•    46 percent of patients had no hospital-based contact
•    45 percent of the C. difficile cases were genetically distinct from all prior cases

The second study found:

•    Of the patients screened, 10.4 percent tested positive for toxigenic C. difficile
•    Transmission from previous room occupants occurred in four patients

Though a significant percent of CDI cases can be linked to healthcare, the studies demonstrate that some cases of CDI lack and epidemiologic link to the healthcare environment.

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