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Clostridium difficile

Are you planning to visit your loved one in a nursing home? With National Nursing Home Week (May 13-19, 2007) upon us, many people may be visiting their loved ones soon or speaking with them on the telephone. What many people may not know is that their loved ones are at risk for Clostridium difficile-Associated Disease (also known as C. diff or CDAD), particularly if they are elderly and taking antibiotics for another infection. CDAD is an infection that causes diarrhea and more serious intestinal conditions and it can even be fatal. It is important to be aware of CDAD and to tell your loved ones about it, because CDAD can be prevented.

What is CDAD?

CDAD is a bacterial infection that causes diarrhea and more serious intestinal conditions, such as colitis. People who get CDAD are usually elderly and taking antibiotics for another infection. They also are usually patients in hospitals or residents in nursing homes.

Clostridium difficile bacteria are found in the feces of an infected person. Other people can become infected if they touch items or surfaces that are contaminated with the bacteria and then touch their mouth.

CDAD can be treated by a healthcare provider with a 10-day course of antibiotics that specifically treats CDAD. More serious cases of CDAD may require hospitalization or surgery.

How can CDAD be prevented?

CDAD can be prevented by washing your hands with soap and warm water. Patients in hospitals and residents in nursing homes should wash their hands very often and try to avoid touching surfaces, especially in bathrooms. Patients and their families also should remind healthcare workers to clean their hands before and after caring for a patient or resident.

If you are visiting your loved one in a hospital or nursing home, please be sure to wash your hands too to help prevent the spread of CDAD and other infectious diseases.

For more information, please see:

CDC, Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion (http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dhqp/id_Cdiff.html)

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