Clostridium difficile infection causes
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C. difficile Infection Microchapters |
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Differentiating Clostridium difficile infectionfrom other Diseases |
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Diagnosis |
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Treatment |
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Case Studies |
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Clostridium difficile infection causes On the Web |
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American Roentgen Ray Society Images of Clostridium difficile infection causes |
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Risk calculators and risk factors for Clostridium difficile infection causes |
For more details about the conditions that are associated with the development of C. difficile infection (e.g. list of antibiotics), click here
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Yazan Daaboul, M.D.
Overview
C. difficile infection is caused by Clostridium difficile, a spore-forming, toxin-producing, oligate anaerobic, gram-positive bacillus.
Cause of Clostridium difficile infection
C. difficile infection is caused by Clostridium difficile. C. difficile has the following characteristic features:
- Bacillus
- Gram-positive
- Obligate anaerobe
- Spore-forming (spores are acid-, heat-, and antibiotic-resistant)
- Toxin-producing (exotoxins A and B)
- Motile
C. difficile is difficult to isolate and grow in cultures. Because the organism is very sensitive to oxygen (obligate anaerobe), spore formation is essential for the organism to be transmitted from one host to another.
Gallery
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![Clostridium difficile enterotoxin, CPE, is the principal toxin involved in C. difficile foodborne illness. From Public Health Image Library (PHIL). [1]](/images/0/06/Clostridium_difficile09.jpeg)
Clostridium difficile enterotoxin, CPE, is the principal toxin involved in C. difficile foodborne illness. From Public Health Image Library (PHIL). [1] -
![Gram-positive C. difficile bacteria from a stool sample culture obtained using a .1µm filter. From Public Health Image Library (PHIL). [1]](/images/6/6a/Clostridium_difficile07.jpeg)
Gram-positive C. difficile bacteria from a stool sample culture obtained using a .1µm filter. From Public Health Image Library (PHIL). [1] -
![Gram-positive C. difficile bacteria from a stool sample culture obtained using a .1µm filter. From Public Health Image Library (PHIL). [1]](/images/8/80/Clostridium_difficile06.jpeg)
Gram-positive C. difficile bacteria from a stool sample culture obtained using a .1µm filter. From Public Health Image Library (PHIL). [1] -
![Gram-positive C. difficile bacteria from a stool sample culture obtained using a .1µm filter. From Public Health Image Library (PHIL). [1]](/images/0/0b/Clostridium_difficile05.jpeg)
Gram-positive C. difficile bacteria from a stool sample culture obtained using a .1µm filter. From Public Health Image Library (PHIL). [1] -
![Gram-positive C. difficile bacteria from a stool sample culture obtained using a .1µm filter. From Public Health Image Library (PHIL). [1]](/images/c/c6/Clostridium_difficile04.jpeg)
Gram-positive C. difficile bacteria from a stool sample culture obtained using a .1µm filter. From Public Health Image Library (PHIL). [1] -
![Gram-positive C. difficile bacteria from a stool sample culture obtained using a .1µm filter. From Public Health Image Library (PHIL). [1]](/images/1/1a/Clostridium_difficile03.jpeg)
Gram-positive C. difficile bacteria from a stool sample culture obtained using a .1µm filter. From Public Health Image Library (PHIL). [1] -
![Illustration depicts the ultrastructural morphology exhibited by a single Gram-positive Clostridium difficile bacillus. From Public Health Image Library (PHIL). [1]](/images/e/eb/Clostridium_difficile02.jpeg)
Illustration depicts the ultrastructural morphology exhibited by a single Gram-positive Clostridium difficile bacillus. From Public Health Image Library (PHIL). [1]
![Clostridium difficile enterotoxin, CPE, is the principal toxin involved in C. difficile foodborne illness. From Public Health Image Library (PHIL). [1]](/index.php/File:Clostridium_difficile09.jpeg)
![Gram-positive C. difficile bacteria from a stool sample culture obtained using a .1µm filter. From Public Health Image Library (PHIL). [1]](/index.php/File:Clostridium_difficile07.jpeg)
![Gram-positive C. difficile bacteria from a stool sample culture obtained using a .1µm filter. From Public Health Image Library (PHIL). [1]](/index.php/File:Clostridium_difficile06.jpeg)
![Gram-positive C. difficile bacteria from a stool sample culture obtained using a .1µm filter. From Public Health Image Library (PHIL). [1]](/index.php/File:Clostridium_difficile05.jpeg)
![Gram-positive C. difficile bacteria from a stool sample culture obtained using a .1µm filter. From Public Health Image Library (PHIL). [1]](/index.php/File:Clostridium_difficile04.jpeg)
![Gram-positive C. difficile bacteria from a stool sample culture obtained using a .1µm filter. From Public Health Image Library (PHIL). [1]](/index.php/File:Clostridium_difficile03.jpeg)
![Illustration depicts the ultrastructural morphology exhibited by a single Gram-positive Clostridium difficile bacillus. From Public Health Image Library (PHIL). [1]](/index.php/File:Clostridium_difficile02.jpeg)