Clostridium Perfringens Is An Anaerobic, Non Motile, Gram Positive And Rod Shape Bacterium

Clostridium difficile is a gram positive, spore forming anaerobic bacillus, which may or may not carry the genes for toxin A-B production (Nipa, 2010). These two types of protein exotoxins produced by the Clostridium difficile bacillus, toxin A and toxin B, can have an infectious form and a non-active, non-infectious form (Grossman, 2010). The infectious form can survive for a short duration of time in the environment. The spores can survive for a longer period of time in the environment and are not infectious unless and until they are ingested or are transformed into an infectious state (Nipa, 2010).

Clostridium difficile is a Gram-positive, spore-forming, rod-shaped bacillus that is renowned for being the leading cause of hospital-acquired diarrhea in adult patients. C. difficile is present as normal intestinal flora within 3% to 5% of healthy people2, while its spores are ubiquitous in the environment, especially in hospital settings. It grows at an optimal temperature and pH of 37ºC and 6.5–7.5 respectively.1 It is an obligate anaerobic as it thrives in the absence of oxygen. It is highly motile with the presence of peritrichous flagella, which are evenly spread out along its surface. As briefly mentioned above, this evolving pathogen produces endospores. The bacterium produces dormant spores, which are extremely hardy and resistant to antibiotics, the host’s innate immune system, and once shed into the environment through the host’s feces, they are resistant to unfavorable aerobic conditions3 as well as several types of bleach-free disinfectants, which are commonly used in hospitals.3 The spores will germinate under the favorable conditions of the intestinal tract, resulting in the multiplication of vegetative cells, colonizing in the gastrointestinal tract. The vegetative cells release two powerful exotoxins upon adherence to the epithelial cells of the GI tract. Pathogenic strains of C. difficile produce two exotoxins: toxin A and toxin B. Toxin A is an enterotoxin that causes fluid excretion, resulting in fluid accumulation and watery diarrhea. Toxin B is a potent

Many Americans die each year from complications connected to Clostridium difficile. It can ill a significant number of individuals as well as animals. The Clostridium difficile infection is the result of poor hygiene, misuse, overuse of antibiotics and an aging population. In this paper I will be discussing the following topics, what clostridium difficile means, what it causes, signs and symptoms, complications, treatment and the prevention.

Clostridium difficile is a gram-positive, spore-forming, anaerobic bacillus. Since the turn of the 21st century, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of nosocomial infections associated with antibiotic exposure and an increase in the severity of the disease. Challenges of disease containment include emerging risk factors and recurrence. In 2008 the acute care costs, not including the economic burden placed outside of the hospital, was estimated to be around $4.8 billion in the US. As such, it has become clear that preventative measures are needed to monitor and reduce the risk of infection and recurrence.

761). Since the nutrients in the intestines are available due to the good bacteria being destroyed, Clostridium difficile uses the nutrients to multiply and releases the toxins , which attack the lining of the intestines, thus causing colitis (Fordtran, 2006, pp. 3).

McCarthy, A.L., Stevens, S.K., & Weber, R.A. Bacillus Cereus Fact Sheet (2013) Food Safety Counsel. Retrieved from http://www.foodsafetycounsel.com/fo

Many different diseases are caused by different species in the Clostridium genus, including tetanus, botulism, and gangrene ("Clostridium."). But perhaps the worst, but least publicly recognized, is Clostridium difficile, or CDI. This disease affects 500,000 people every year in the US alone, and of those infected, around 6% died within the first month of being infected (“Healthcare-Associated Infections.”). CDI is a gastrointestinal infection. It is found in soil, water, processed meat, and human and animal feces, but once the bacteria has reached a surface, it can linger there for months. If people touch a surface with CDI with their hands, they can then accidentally ingest it, leading to a potential CDI infection. Certain people are at much

Fecal Transplantation more effective than an additional course of first line Vancomycin and Metronidazole antibiotic treatment?: A Literature Review

Clostridium difficile has infected up to 500,000 people in the United States every year. Clostridium difficile is a bacterial infection it can cause diarrhea and also a fever. It has also caused death among people. There has been a recorded 14,000 deaths from Clostridium difficile a year.

This test is performed to check for Clostridium difficile bacteria in your stool. Being infected with this toxin can result in damage to the lining of your colon and may lead to colitis.

Each year in the United States, many people require hospitalization due to various medical reasons. Often times, patients must undergo a course of antibiotics to treat the medical condition that warranted the hospitalization. The combination of the necessity to be admitted to a health care facility along with the administration of an antibiotic may result in a Clostridium difficile infection (CDI). The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of a CDI, including an overview of the microbiology of Clostridium Difficile (C- diff), as well as the epidemiology, pathophysiology, signs, symptoms, treatment and prevention of the infection.

Clostridium perfringens are bacteria that produce harmful toxins to humans. Clostridium perfringens and its toxins are found everywhere in the environment, including soil, dust and, animals. but human infection is most likely to come from eating food that is contaminated with Clostridium perfringens in it. Food poisoning from Clostridium perfringens is very common, but is typically not too severe, and is often mistaken for the “24-hour flu”.

Clostridim difficile was first isolated in1935 by George and his colleagues from a stool found in a healthy infant by the name of Hall and O’Toole (Heinlen and Ballard, 2010). Yet in 1978, C.difficile was known to be associated as disease in human’s antibiotic-associated diarrhea (Heinlen and Ballard, 2010). It is 2 types of C. difficile: one that exists in spore form and the other in vegetative form. Depending on the type of form it exist in, allows it to grow in a certain environment. It is also a gram positive rod bacterium. When Clostridim difficile exist in a spore form, it can live in harsh conditions and in common sterilization techniques (Heinlen and Ballard, 2010). When C. difficile exist in spore form, it will be resistant to temperature

Clostridium botulinum is an, anaerobic, gram-positive, spore-forming bacteria that causes the disease known as botulism (Smith and Sugiyama, 1988). It produces a potent neurotoxin called botulinum toxin which causes botulism or more specifically foodborne botulism. The spores of the bacteria can survive high temperatures and can live in foods that are incorrectly or poorly processed (FDA). There are seven types of botulism recognized, (A-G), but only A, B, E, and F cause human botulism (FDA).

Common illnesses that can occur are salmonella and trichinosis poisoning resulting from improper handling of chicken, eggs or pork (Jardin, 2009, para.2). Diseases such as: campylobacteriosis, cholera, and listeriosis also make the list of illnesses (Jardin, 2009, para.1). These diseases are the versions of food poisoning, which can be life-threatening. According to the World of Health article published in 2007,