Overuse of antibiotics the main cause of Clostridium difficile epidemic

Leeds: The study concluded that overuse of antibiotics like ciprofloxacin led to the outbreak of severe diarrhoea caused by Clostridium difficile (C.diff) that hit headlines from 2006 onwards. The outbreak was stopped by substantially reducing use of ciprofloxacin and related antibiotics. Inappropriate use and widespread over prescribing of fluoroquinolone antibiotics such as ciprofloxacin in fact allowed C. diff bugs that were resistant to the drug to thrive, because non-resistant bugs in the gut were killed off by the antibiotic, leaving the way clear for rapid growth of resistant C. diff. Concerns about hospital 'superbugs' which had become resistant to common antibiotics resulted in the announcement of a programme of “deep cleaning” and other infection control measures in the NHS in 2007.

New Clostridium difficile treatment reduces recurrent infections by 40%

Leeds: C.diff, a bacterium that infects the bowel, is the most common cause of infectious diarrhoea in hospitalised patients. Recurrences are common after antibiotic treatment, are a cause of re-admissions to hospital, and in some cases can be fatal. Now researchers have found that the addition of a drug called bezlotoxumab to standard antibiotic treatment can reduce the risk of a repeat infection by 37%. Bezlotoxumab is a human monocalonal antibody and works by neutralising a toxin produced by the C.diff bacteria that damages the gut wall.

Eat a superbug to beat a superbug

Scimex: Being fed a non-harmful strain of the superbug Clostridium difficile can protect patients who have previously been infected with a harmful strain from becoming re-infected, according to a small-scale study by international scientists. The researchers say that the harmless bugs line the patients' guts, stopping more harmful strains from getting a foothold. Among patients with Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) who recovered following standard treatment with the antibiotics metronidazole or vancomycin, oral administration of spores of a strain of C difficile that does not produce toxins colonized the gastrointestinal tract and significantly reduced CDI recurrence, according to a study in the May 5 issue of JAMA.

Nearly half a million Americans suffered from Clostridium difficile infections in a single year

CDC. US: Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) caused almost half a million infections among patients in the United States in a single year, according to a study released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).