Basic Clostridioides difficile Information
What is Clostridioides difficile (C. diff)?
Clostridioides difficile, or C. diff, is a bacterium found in feces. C. diff causes inflammation of the colon, known as colitis. Symptoms of C. diff infection include:
- Watery diarrhea for at least three bowel movements per day for two or more days
- Loss of appetite
- Abdominal pain or tenderness
- Fever, and
- Nausea
What are risk factors associated with C. diff infections?
- Past use of antibiotics or proton-pump inhibitors
- Being elderly
- A weakened immune system
- History of stomach or intestinal surgery
- Long stay in a healthcare facility
How to prevent spread of C. diff at home?
Information for Healthcare Professionals
To prevent the spread of C. diff in hospitals, healthcare professionals should:
- Use contact precautions and proper hand washing practices
- Check staff for compliance to practices for hand washing, contact precautions, and environment cleaning
- Notify of C. diff status among staff and between facilities
- Report C. diff cases to Public Health
- Encourage proper and correct prescribing of antibiotics through antimicrobial management
- For more information about C. diff prevention, see Hand hygiene in a healthcare setting from CDC.
Additional C. diff Resource
For more information on C. diff visit the CDC site on Clostridioides difficile infection.
Information for Laboratories
DHHS' reportable disease regulations require reporting all C. diff positive results to public health. There are several tests available for C. diff. However, scientists are still trying to find the most efficient and accurate method.
For more information on C. diff testing, review the following article by Crobach et. al. originally published in Clinical Microbiology and Infection in 2016: Update of the diagnostic guidance document for Clostridioides difficile infection.