An organism that causes an acute inflammation of the colon. Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) is found in dust, soil, vegetation, and the gastrointestinal tracts of humans and animals. A pathogenic strain of this bacteria produces toxins that cause diarrhea and COLITIS, often after antibiotic treatment.
A species that causes watery diarrhea, fever, anorexia, and abdominal pain, sometimes accompanied by pseudomembranous colitis, especially in patients previously treated with antibiotics or confined in health care settings. Most antibiotics (except aminoglycosides) have been associated with the development of C. diff. -associated disease, which varies in clinical significance from a relatively mild diarrheal illness, to one complicated by dehydration, electrolyte disturbances, toxic megacolon, and death.