Clostridium Difficile News and Research

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Clostridium difficile is a type of bacterium found in human and animal waste. Clostridium difficile is a common cause of diarrhea that occurs in hospitals. It can also cause diarrhea or other intestinal disorders in patients treated with antibiotics.

New findings challenge existing strategies for fighting infectious diseases and germs

Do the same laws of biodiversity which apply in nature also apply to our own bodies and homes? If so, current hygiene measures to combat aggressive germs could be, to some extent, counterproductive.

22 Jan 2019

Fecal transplant from certain donors better than others

Fecal microbiota transplantation or stool transplant from a donor is useful for patients infected with the deadly recurrent Clostridium difficile that leads to severe diarrhea, pain and often serious consequences.

22 Jan 2019

New antibiotic discovery heralds breakthrough in the fight against drug-resistant bacteria

A new antibiotic developed by a Flinders University researcher is being heralded as a breakthrough in the war against a drug resistant superbug.

18 Jan 2019

AGA's new clinical guideline to help manage patients with mild-to-moderate ulcerative colitis

Most patients with ulcerative colitis have mild-to-moderate disease characterized by periods of activity or remission, but practice variations exist in disease management.

10 Jan 2019

Novel technique detects new strains of microbes in human fecal microbiota after obesity surgery

Using a unique bioinformatics technique developed at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, UAB researchers have detected the emergence of new strains of microbes in the human fecal microbiota after obesity surgery.

9 Jan 2019

Study offers new insight on mechanism underlying control of gene expression

Researchers have provided new insight on the mechanism underlying the control of gene expression in all living organisms, according to a study published today in eLife.

8 Jan 2019

Researchers shed new light on how to combat Shiga and ricin toxins

Min Dong, PhD, and his lab are world experts in toxins and how to combat them. They've figured out how Clostridium difficile's most potent toxin gets into cells and zeroed in on the first new botulinum toxin identified since 1969.

11 Dec 2018

Researchers elucidate infection process of bacterial pathogen Clostridium difficile

Scientists from the VIB-UGent Center for Inflammation Research identified the mechanisms by which the bacterial pathogen Clostridium difficile kills intestinal epithelial cells, thus destroying the protective mucosal barrier of the intestinal tract.

21 Nov 2018

Fecal microbiota transplantation effective against ICI-associated colitis

For the first time, transplanting gut bacteria from healthy donors was used to successfully treat patients suffering from severe colitis caused by treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors.

12 Nov 2018

Study findings may explain sporadic outbreaks of C. difficile infections in hospitals

Washing contaminated hospital bedsheets in a commercial washing machine with industrial detergent at high disinfecting temperatures failed to remove all traces of Clostridium difficile (C. difficile), a bacteria that causes infectious diarrhea, suggesting that linens could be a source of infection among patients and even other hospitals, according to a study published today in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America.

16 Oct 2018

Gangrene-causing bacteria show promise as cancer treatment

Researchers have found that the bacteria responsible for causing gangrene could also be used to treat patients with certain cancers.

1 Oct 2018

Xenex LightStrike Germ-Zapping Robots help reduce infection rates at Martin Medical Center

Patient safety is a top priority at Martin Medical Center, which recently announced that it has seen a significant reduction in its Clostridium difficile (C.diff) infection rates since adopting Xenex LightStrike Germ-Zapping Robots as its environmental standard of care.

1 Oct 2018

Auto-FMT found to be safe, effective way to replenish beneficial gut bacteria in cancer patients

Researchers at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center have shown that autologous fecal microbiota transplantation (auto-FMT) is a safe and effective way to help replenish beneficial gut bacteria in cancer patients who require intense antibiotics during allogenic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

27 Sep 2018

Innovation Fund Denmark supports research project that aims to fight Clostridium difficile diarrhea

One man's trash is another man's treasure, as the saying goes. If things go to plan, feces from registered and thoroughly tested healthy donors will in a few years be the standard treatment for the bacterium Clostridium difficile at Danish hospitals.

21 Sep 2018

Research shows how poisonous proteins of Clostridium difficile penetrate intestinal cells

Treating bacterial infections with antibiotics often kills intestinal flora, leading to diarrhoea and inflammation of the gut.

12 Sep 2018

How 'bad' bacteria gain an upper hand in the human gut

A study has revealed that the bacterium C. difficile gains a competitive advantage over protective bacteria in the human gut by producing para-cresol.

11 Sep 2018

Hunterdon Medical Center uses LightStrike robot to quickly zap away pathogens

As germs and bacteria become increasingly resistant to cleaning chemicals and antibiotics, Hunterdon Medical Center recently deployed Xenex LightStrike Germ-Zapping Robots that use pulsed xenon ultraviolet light to enhance traditional room cleaning procedures as a key part of the hospital's infection prevention program.

10 Sep 2018

SBPH enhances patient safety with Xenex LightStrike room disinfection robot

St. Bernard Parish Hospital is enhancing patient safety and reducing the risk of healthcare-associated infections with a Xenex LightStrike room disinfection robot.

28 Aug 2018

Antimicrobial stewardship programs in dialysis facilities can minimize infections, deaths, and costs

A new analysis indicates that implementing antimicrobial stewardship programs in out-patient dialysis facilities can lead to significant and meaningful reductions in infections caused by multidrug-resistant organisms, infection-related deaths, and costs.

24 Aug 2018

Pediatric antibiotic prescriptions lead to nearly 70,000 ER visits in the U.S. each year

The use of antibiotics drives the development of antibiotic resistance, a major threat to public health worldwide. But these drugs also carry the risk of harm to individual patients, including children.

23 Aug 2018