Open AccessClostridium difficile infection outbreak in a male rehabilitation ward, Hong Kong (China), 2011
Author(s) -
Tsz-sum Lam,
Man-ting Yuk,
Ngai-chong Tsang,
Man-ha Wong,
Shuk-Kwan Chuang
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
western pacific surveillance response journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.515
H-Index - 16
eISSN - 2094-7313
pISSN - 2094-7321
DOI - 10.5365/wpsar.2012.3.4.001
Subject(s) - clostridium difficile , outbreak , medicine , china , c difficile , rehabilitation hospital , clostridium infections , infection control , rehabilitation , virology , microbiology and biotechnology , geography , intensive care medicine , biology , physical therapy , antibiotics , archaeology
Clostridium difficile is an anaerobic, gram-positive bacterium, capable of sporulation when environmental conditions no longer support its growth. The sporulation capacity enables the organism to persist in the environment for extended periods of time. Clostridium difficile is the main pathogen accountable for antibiotic-associated colitis and for 15% to 25% of cases of nosocomial antibiotic-associated diarrhoea. Major risk factors such as increased severity of underlying illness, increased age, prior antimicrobial use and gastric acid suppressors have been identified for Clostridium difficile