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0:00
Hello, everyone. My name
is Dr. Sarah Fouch.
Within this session,
we will be considering
Clostridium difficile.
We will think about the
conditions that are
associated with
this organism and
the symptoms that a
patient may experience.
We will also think about
the virulence factors that
this organism expresses to
make it a successful pathogen.
0:26
Now, when we think about
Clostridium difficile,
we haven't known about this
organism for a long time.
It's been recognized for
its clinical importance
since the 1970s,
and it's the toxin that
Clostridium difficile
produces that is associated
with the symptoms that the
patient will experience.
But, again, by far a
key virulence factor
here is the fact that
it can form spores.
We will think about
these virulence
factors a little bit
more as we go through
this recording.
Now, when we think about
Clostridium difficile,
the toxin is a problem,
and it's particularly
a problem within
the hospital environment but
the spores are an even
bigger issue here.
If we think about
Clostridium difficile,
I want you to think about
antibiotics because this is
very much associated with
antibiotic-associated diarrhea.
We will talk about why
that is over the next
couple of slides.
A lot of us will carry
Clostridium difficile as part
of our normal bowel flora.
That's fine, it doesn't cause
us any issues whatsoever.
However, if you think about how
populated our
gastrointestinal tract is,
it has many different species
of organisms and they keep
each other in check so
one doesn't dominate
a certain area.
Now, when we have antibiotics,
obviously, that will
upset that balance.
We can also come
into contact with
Clostridium difficile as well.
Again, we can find it in
soil, water, and sewage.
We can also come
into contact with
it in the hospital
environment as well.
