Biggest C. diff Source may not be Infected Patients, Study Finds

Infected patients account for only half of all of C. diff.  infections, with the other half originating outside healthcare settings, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Researchers, who were part of England's U.K. Clinical Research Collaboration Translational Infection Research Initiative, genotyped more than 1,000 cases of C. diff. isolated from patients in Oxfordshire, U.K., hospitals and community settings between Sept. 2007 and Mar. 2011.

They determined that over the three-year study period, 45 percent of C. diff. cases were genetically distinct from every other analyzed case, indicating that there existed a reservoir of C. diff. in the greater Oxfordshire community.

The study suggests that community C. diff. control may be vital to reducing the number of cases of the illness in healthcare settings. 

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