C. diff Initiatives

Overview

CDC works with federal and public health partners to reduce C. diff infections by:

• Promoting CDC's guidelines for infection control and helping partners implement them.
• Supporting prevention collaboratives and prevention programs in states with high C. diff infection rates.
• Discovering and addressing barriers for C. diff infection prevention with healthcare facilities.
• Expanding implementation of antibiotic stewardship programs in all healthcare settings, focusing on specific antibiotics linked to C. diff infections.
• Innovatively addressing critical issues such as:
  • The role of asymptomatic carriers.
  • Transmission dynamics.
  • The patient's microbiome.
  • Environmental cleaning.

C. diff infections are an urgent problem in hospitals, nursing homes and in communities. C. diff infections can spread more widely when patients move between these healthcare facilities, both within and between communities. Efforts to combat the spread include:

• Tracking and reporting national progress toward preventing C. diff infections in many types of healthcare facilities. The National and State Healthcare-Associated Infections Progress Report summarizes select HAIs, including C. diff, across four healthcare settings.
• Promoting C. diff prevention programs and providing gold-standard patient safety recommendations.
• Providing prevention expertise, as well as outbreak and laboratory support to health departments and facilities.