Being exposed to the Clostridium difficile infection as an infant and becoming infected produces an immune response that could protect against contracting C. diff later in childhood, a study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases found.
Researchers collected stool samples of healthy infants 1 to 2 months old and 9 to 12 months old and conducted whole genome sequencing using the samples.
They found that infants who had been colonized with C. diff gained antibodies in their blood that could neutralize toxins causing C. diff, showing evidence of a natural immunization.
"We found an immune response in infants colonized with C. difficile, which might be beneficial as they get older, although we are still studying the extent and duration of this natural immunization," said study lead author Larry Kociolek, MD, of Stanley Manne Children's Research Institute at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago.
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