Summary:
Clostridium Difficile (Cdf) is a bacillus whose presence has exploded in the
recent years and the reported events have tripled.
Global climate change led to diversification of infectious factors and
increased the antibiotics’ use. The growth of Cdf shows seasonality and its
presence is associated up to 95% with antibiotics.
Long hospitalization helps the transmission of CDI between patients, as
hospital environment stands as a great source of infection, via the healthcare
personnel (especially their hands), or the fomites (walls, floors, doorknobs,
beds, toilets) or even contaminated materials (stethoscopes, thermometers),
while CDI is easily transferred to persons outside the hospital either by the
relatives of hospitalized patients or the healthcare staff. The switch to newer
antiseptics, which don’t need rinse with water, leads to the survival of Cdf
spores, as they aren’t killed and remain ready to germinate in the environment.
Also, outhospital factors that enhance the spread of Clostridium are the
insufficient washing of various foods, the contact with different pets and the
presence of Cdf in the soil.
All these features make Cdf an environmental risk which requires the
mobilization of medical community. The control and limitation of the increasing
spread of Cdf is a challenge to ensure global public health.
Keywords:
Clostridium difficile, infection, hospital, public health, environmental danger
