How is Clostridium difficile spread?
Although some patients can be healthy carriers of Clostridium difficile, in most cases the disease spreads after cross infection from another patient, either through direct patient to patient contact, via health care workers, or via a contaminated environment. A patient who has Clostridium difficile diarrhoea excretes spores, which can contaminate the general environment around the patients bed and bathroom area, and clinical areas and equipment such as sluices, commodes, bedpan washers etc. They can survive for a long time and be a source of hand-to-mouth infection for others. If these people have been given antibiotics, they are at risk of Clostridium difficile infection. Prevention and control of Clostridium difficile Careful antibiotic prescribing to reduce the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics is a key component in the prevention of Clostridium difficile disease. Every BMI hospital has an antibiotic policy in place to reduce inappropriate prescribing. Patients with diarrhoea, whet
