Epidemiology of Clostridium difficile in Infants

作者：H Elliott Larson, Fiona E. Barclay, Pauline Honour, I. D. Hill · 发表于：The Journal of Infectious Diseases · 年份：1982 · DOI：10.1093/infdis/146.6.727 · 被引用次数：217 · 研究领域：Clostridium difficile and Clostridium perfringens research、Viral gastroenteritis research and epidemiology、Antimicrobial Resistance in Staphylococcus

The epidemiology of Clostridium difficile was studied prospectively in 451 newborn infants by daily screening of fecal samples. Colonization rates in three postnatal wards ranged from 2% to 52%. Many colonizations were sporadic, but on two wards there was evidence of clustering. On one of these occasions prospective environmental sampling yielded C. difficile organisms from a potential common source. Mothers were shown not to be the sources of their infants' organisms. Both toxin-producing and non-toxigenic strains were common; differentiation according to toxin type was epidemiologically useful. Cross contamination is the most likely explanation of the spread of C. difficile among hospitalized infants; the organism could spread among adults who are at risk of developing antibiotic-associated colitis in a similar manner.