The deadly and notoriously stubborn superbug, Clostridioides difficile (C. diff), is putting up a winning fight against hospital-grade disinfectants meant to kill it, according to results of a new study published in the Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy journal of the American Society for Microbiology. The C. diff bacterium causes inflammation of the colon with symptoms ranging from diarrhea to life-threatening sepsis and is most common among the elderly in hospitals or other health care facilities.
The survival of C. diff in hospitals and nursing homes is especially hazardous. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that within a month of diagnosis, one in 11 people over age 65 died of a health care-associated C. diff infection.
The survival of C. diff in hospitals and nursing homes is especially hazardous. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that within a month of diagnosis, one in 11 people over age 65 died of a health care-associated C. diff infection.