Clostridium News and Research

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Infection control program and active surveillance can reduce incidence of impatient C. diff infections

A comprehensive infection control program combined with an active surveillance process significantly reduced the incidence of Clostridium difficile (C. diff) infections in a long-term acute care hospital, according to a study published in the Journal for Healthcare Quality, the peer reviewed publication of the National Association for Healthcare Quality (NAHQ).

10 Jul 2013

Data on side effects of fidaxomicin not analysed appropriately

The antibiotic fidaxomicin (trade name: Dificlir) has been approved in Germany since December 2011 for the treatment of adults who have diarrhoea caused by Clostridium difficile.

3 Jul 2013

Mayo Clinic opens new C. difficile Clinic at Rochester campus

Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) has reached an epidemic state and is the most common infectious cause of diarrhea in hospitals. Health care providers are seeing increased severity and recurrence rates of the infection. In response, Mayo Clinic has opened a C. difficile Clinic at the Rochester campus.

25 Jun 2013

Rebiotix receives FDA Fast Track designation for RBX2660 to treat patients with CDI

Rebiotix Inc. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted Fast Track designation for the investigation of RBX2660 (microbiota suspension), intended for the treatment of recurrent Clostridium difficile infection.

25 Jun 2013

Rigorous interventions result in fewer infections, deaths associated with hospital-onset C. difficile

Rhode Island Hospital has reduced the incidence of hospital-associated Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) infections by 70 percent and reduced annual associated mortality in patients with hospital-associated C. difficile by 64 percent through successive implementation of five rigorous interventions , as reported in the July 2013 issue of The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety.

21 Jun 2013

Patients who receive antibiotics while in hospital may benefit from probiotics, say researchers

Patients in hospital who are on antibiotics may benefit from taking probiotics, according to researchers at St. Michael-s Hospital.

5 Jun 2013

Scientists work together to optimize the quality, availability of fecal microbiota transplants

Monarch Labs and the BioTherapeutics, Education & Research Foundation announced today their collaboration to develop two fecal microbiota transplantation products.

4 Jun 2013

IFR scientists mine the genome of C. botulinum to reveal new information about toxin genes

The toxin that causes botulism is the most potent that we know of. Eating an amount of toxin just 1000th the weight of a grain of salt can be fatal, which is why so much effort has been put into keeping Clostridium botulinum, which produces the toxin, out of our food.

15 May 2013

Juice products from Juices Incorporated have potential health risk, FDA warns

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers not to consume any juice products or other beverages from Juices Incorporated (aka Juices International and Juices Enterprises) of Brooklyn, N.Y.

13 May 2013

Antidepressants can increase risk of C. difficile infection in depressed patients

Adults with depression and who receive certain types of anti-depressants have an increased risk of developing Clostridium difficile, a costly and serious hospital-associated infection, according to a new University of Michigan Health System study.

8 May 2013

University of Guelph researchers develop carbohydrate-based vaccine against gut bug

A first-ever vaccine created by University of Guelph researchers for gut bacteria common in autistic children may also help control some autism symptoms.

25 Apr 2013

ViroPharma announces results of VP20621 Phase 2 study for preventing recurrent CDI

ViroPharma Incorporated, an international biopharmaceutical company committed to developing and commercializing innovative products that address unmet medical needs and rare diseases, today announced the results of a Phase 2 study of VP20621 (non-toxigenic Clostridium difficile; NTCD) a novel treatment approach for preventing recurrent C. difficile infections.

23 Apr 2013

Unnecessary use of antibiotics in elderly women in EDs increases risk of unintended consequences

Older adults represent an important and growing demographic in emergency departments across the country, with urinary tract infections being one of the leading causes for ED visits.

23 Apr 2013

Study confirms effectiveness of UV-C-emitting device in combating pathogens in hospital environment

A recent study funded by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Epicenters Program and published in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology ( Deverick H. Anderson , M.D., MPH et al., 2013) supports and expands on previously published studies confirming the effectiveness of an automated UV-C-emitting device to combat the pathogens Clostridium difficile (C. diff.), vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) and Acinetobacter spp. – some of the common culprits of health care-associated infections drawing increased attention for hospitals across the country.

20 Apr 2013

New technique developed at MU may make food contamination testing more rapid, accurate

Sales of chicken products in China plummeted recently during an outbreak of a deadly new strain of bird flu. From bird flu to mad cow disease, numerous food scares have made global headlines in recent years.

19 Apr 2013

Researchers use metagenomics to identify the cause of outbreaks of bacterial infection

Researchers have been able to reconstruct the genome sequence of an outbreak strain of Shiga-toxigenic Escherichia coli (STEC), which caused over 50 deaths in Germany, using an approach known as metagenomics which bypasses the need for growing bacteria in the lab.

12 Apr 2013

Researchers use metagenomics to reconstruct genome sequence of Shiga-toxigenic Escherichia coli

Researchers have been able to reconstruct the genome sequence of an outbreak strain of Shiga-toxigenic Escherichia coli using metagenomics (the direct sequencing of DNA extracted from microbiologically complex samples), according to a study in the April 10 issue of JAMA, a Genomics theme issue.

10 Apr 2013

Disinfection intervention highlights effective method in removing antibiotic-resistant bug

With rates and deaths associated with Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) at historically high levels, many hospitals have taken extra steps to reduce these infections. New research finds that a dedicated daily cleaning crew who adequately clean and disinfect rooms contaminated by C. difficile using a standardized process can be more effective than other disinfection interventions.

10 Apr 2013

HYFFI project examines positive effects of seaweed fibre on bacterial in human gut

Seaweeds are not only tasty, but they are a source of nutrients that could be beneficial for health and wellbeing. And like terrestrial plants, seaweeds also contain significant portions of fibre that reach the colon undigested. But does seaweed fibre have similar positive effects on bacterial in the human gut? That's the question that the HYFFI project, funded by the EU, is trying to solve.

6 Apr 2013

UC San Francisco researchers outline cell-based therapeutics as a "third pillar” of medicine

Treating patients with cells may one day become as common as it is now to treat the sick with drugs made from engineered proteins, antibodies or smaller chemicals, according to UC San Francisco researchers.

4 Apr 2013