Clostridioides difficile presents an on-going problem within the hospital environment, acting as a significant pathogenic bacterium.The organism has been designated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as one of the five most urgent threats to the U.S. healthcare system.
The challenge is made worse through the organism being resistant to some antimicrobials. The spread of strains resistance to vancomycin, a first-line antibiotic, presents a particular concern.
When the organism becomes resistant to one or more antimicrobials, the term ‘superbug’ applies and this is the case within many hospital networks.
Typically, Clostridioides difficile bacteria usually live harmlessly in the human bowel along with lots of other types of bacteria. However, sometimes when a person takes antibiotics, the balance of bacteria in your bowel can change, causing an infection. One trigger for this imbalance also relates to certain diets, as Digital Journal has previously highlighted.
A recent study on the bacterium Clostridioides difficile further showcases the need for C. difficile focused treatments, research, and for it to be a nationally notifiable disease.
Symptoms of a Clostridioides difficile infection include diarrhoea, a high temperature and feeling sick.
As an example of proactive measures, the Peggy Lillis Foundation, the organization is seeking to develop a U.S-wide ‘C. diff’ awareness movement by educating the public, empowering patients and advocates, and shaping policy.
In terms of research efforts, scientists based at Texas A&M University and Baylor College of Medicine are looking at mechanisms to tackle the microbial problem at its source (the initial point of infection). This is with a view to pinpoint what makes patients susceptible to it in the first place.
There is a pattern where C. difficile infection appears to be strongly correlated with a high abundance of secondary bile acids. In turn, small molecules seem to be as a key protector in preventing C. difficile infection.
To address this, the research indicates that medical professionals should focus on microbes that consume nutrients important for C. difficile growth. Reducing these makes the likelihood of C. difficile developing much lower.
This approach is outlined in PLoS Pathogens, in the paper “Bile acid-independent protection against Clostridioides difficile infection.”
