Germ factfile Next>>
C. difficile (Clostridium Difficile)
C. difficile bacteria are found everywhere in the environment, commonly causing infections of the colon, however in a healthy individual, the ‘good’ bacteria in the gut will usually prevent C. difficile from colonizing and causing illness. Most antibiotics don’t kill C. difficile, but they do kill everything else, including the ‘friendly’ bacteria in the gut. With nothing there to stop it, the C. difficile population multiplies, causing disease.
C. difficile grows best at body temperature but can survive extreme low or high temperatures by growing spores, allowing them to survive on surfaces for some time and, if ingested, they pass easily through the stomach to the gut. Once in the colon, they become active and multiply. Some strains of C. difficile are emerging that are resistant to treatment and cause more severe illness than ordinary less resistant strains.
How does it spread?
C. difficile can be spread through person to person contact, touching surfaces, door handles, etc. By forming spores, it can survive on any surfaces even after cleaning, unless bleach is used. It spreads most easily in hospitals and care homes, where people are most vulnerable because they are using antibiotics.
Symptoms
C. difficile produces toxins which destroy the cells in the gut causing stomach pain, nausea, diarrhoea, fever, dehydration, kidney failure and severe inflammation of the gut (colitis) which may lead to colon rupturing and bowel perforation. Early diagnosis and speedy treatment is key, and the best chance of reducing the risk of serious illness or fatality. Symptoms may not appear for weeks after initial infection.
People most at risk
Those on a course of antibiotics, the elderly, people with weakened immune systems and those in hospitals/care homes.
Best prevention
- Wash your hands thoroughly and regularly and use a hand sanitiser. Washing your hands is the only way to get rid of C.difficille spores. Take care after contact with an infected person, after using the toilet and before handling food.
- Frequently disinfect toilet and toilet area.
- Keep surfaces hygienically clean. Sanitise frequently used items, such as; handles, switches, telephones, kettles etc.
- Do not share towels, toothbrushes or other intimate items.
- Keep an infected person's towels and linen separate, and wash separately at 60degrees or with a biological detergent at 40degrees.
- Cloths used for cleaning should be completely disinfected by soaking in bleach.