Characterisation of Clostridium difficile hospital ward-based transmission using extensive epidemiological data and molecular typing.

Journal article

Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is a leading cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhoea and is endemic in hospitals, hindering the identification of sources and routes of transmission based on shared time and space alone. This may compromise rational control despite costly prevention strategies. This study aimed to investigate ward-based transmission of C. difficile, by subdividing outbreaks into distinct lineages defined by multi-locus sequence typing (MLST).

Authors: Walker, A; Eyre, D; Wyllie, D; Dingle, K; Harding, R

• Publication status: Published
• Journal: PLoS Med
• Volume: 9
• Issue: 2
• Pages: e1001172
• Publication date: 2012-02-01
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1001172
• EISSN: 1549-1676
• ISSN: 1549-1277
• Language: English
• Keywords: Hospital Units; Cross Infection; Hospitalization; Clostridium difficile; Diarrhea; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Infection Control; Base Sequence; Gastrointestinal Tract; Humans; Multilocus Sequence Typing; Endemic Diseases; Enterocolitis, Pseudomembranous