Contamination of the Hospital Environment From Potential Clostridium difficile Excretors Without Active Infection.

Although infected patients were significantly more likely to contaminate their immediate environment, excretors also disseminated spores widely. In this study C. difficile was isolated from the rooms of a third of patients. This is important since the hospital environment plays a significant role in transmission of C. difficile9,10 and it has been shown that occupants of a room vacated by a previously colonized or infected patient are at increased risk of infection. Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology. 2015 Aug 1;36(08):975-7.