What caused the fatal infection cases in California and in Canada?
Four of the five fatal infection cases in the U.S. and the one in Canada have been attributed to Clostridium sordellii bacteria. C. sordellii are anaerobic bacteria (i.e. can live without oxygen) that, in very rare cases, produce rapidly fatal toxins. More is known about C. sordellii in veterinary medicine than in human medicine. They are found in the soil and are a known cause of death in sheep. C. sordellii have been isolated from the intestines and vaginas of healthy individuals, not causing symptoms or producing a toxic effect. This asymptomatic state is known as “colonization” and is not known to be a health problem for women. Approximately 4-18% of normal, healthy, non-pregnant women’s vaginas are colonized with clostridium species,4 and an estimated 1% of these colonizations are C. sordellii.5 It is unclear what factors or conditions cause the bacteria to multiply and produce toxins. These toxins cause a clinical picture with some of the characteristics of overwhelming systemic
