Nosocomial acquisition of Clostridium difficile infection

Identification of outbreak-associated and other strains ofClostridium difficileby numerical analysis of SDS-PAGE protein patterns

“…However, this is not the exclusive method of acquiring infection since a previous study [38] indicated that as well as being an exogenous disease, C. difficile-associated diarrhoea can also be an endogenous disease (which implies overgrowth of the organism in a susceptible host). The prospective study of McFarland and colleagues [27] showed that 13 of 17 types were isolated from asymptomatic patients on admission to hospital but that many of these same types were subsequently recovered from symptomatic cases. The implication is that many cases of AAD associated with C. difficile are imported to the hospital endogenously by the patients.…”

“…Differing electrophoretic methodologies have been employed in the typing of C. difficile by protein patterns and it appears to be the most popular general approach. These include radio-labelled [12,16], EDTA-extracted surface proteins [7,22], and whole-cell proteins [23][24][25] and, in addition, these may be coupled with immunoblotting techniques [26][27][28]. Discrimination is extremely high and in theory all strains can be typed; in practice, well over 95 % of isolates can be typed to previously defined types and any new patterns can be added as new types.…”

“…For epidemiological studies, a variety of methods have been applied to the typing of C. difficile: bacteriophage and bacteriocin typing [11,17,18], serotyping [19][20][21], protein typing (including radio-labelled [12,16], EDTA-extracted surface [7,22], and whole-cell proteins [23][24][25]), immunoblotting techniques [26][27][28], plasmid profiling [29], restriction endonuclease fingerprinting [30,31], restriction fragment length polymorphisms [32], the polymerase chain reaction [33], and pyrolysis mass spectrometry [34]. [35], infection contributed to 17 deaths amongst the mainly geriatric patients.…”

Cirrhosis and C. difficile: A Deadly Duo?

“…Furthermore, thorough environmental cleaning of patient rooms is paramount prior to admission of a new patient who may be exposed to spores remaining on hospital room surfaces. These basic preventive measures were in use as early as 1989, as illustrated in a study by McFarland et al [12] and have continued to be indispensible practices today.…”

Infections in Residents of Nursing Homes

“…Direct transmission can occur between residents via feco-oral way, although direct transmission by spread from the hands of the personnel, fomites, or the nursing home environment presents the most important source of infection [31].…”