Epidemiology of Clostridium difficile in Infants

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Abstract
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 nontoxigenic strains were common; differentiation according to toxin type was epidemiologically useful. Cross contamination is the most likely explanation for 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.

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