Health
Bacterial threat posed by C. diff
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Oct. 23, 2006
Clostridium difficile is making its way from the hospital into the community, according to several presentations scheduled for the Infectious Diseases Society of America's annual meeting in Toronto, Oct. 12-15.
One study describes a community outbreak in Philadelphia among six healthy women, ages 18 to 47. Three of the women were pregnant and all had taken antibiotics in recent months. Another study found that hospitalized patients infected with the bacteria responded better to treatment with vancomycin rather than the typical first-line treatment, metronidazole.
In addition, a dangerous new strain of C. diff was recently identified in Ontario, leading the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to recommend that people with severe diarrhea that lasts longer than three days seek medical help.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2006/10/23/hlbf1023.htm.
