C Diff. (Clostridium Difficile) is a bacterium that causes inflammation of the colon. People can become infected if they touch a surface contaminated with feces. The bacteria can also be spread through the hands of healthcare workers. Symptoms of infection include diarrhea, fever, nausea, and abdominal pain. C Diff. infection is usually treated with antibiotics for 10 days.

Everyone has C Diff. bacteria living in their colon. However, they are usually held in check by other natural bacteria living in the colon. If certain antibiotics are used too aggressively, the natural bacteria in the colon are wiped out. This leaves the C Diff. to run rampant. In this way, overuse of antibiotics can also cause C Diff. infection.

For more information on Clostridium Difficile, visit the CDC web page or Multi-Clean’s Clostridium Difficile Pathogen Primer. Also be sure to check out our blog post on C. Diff. Prevention.