Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Research Briefing
  • Published:

Genomic epidemiology of Clostridioides difficile in individuals admitted to an intensive care unit

Whole-genome sequencing of Clostridioides difficile from a densely sampled intensive care unit (ICU) population showed that many of these patients harbor toxigenic C. difficile. This carriage did not lead to high levels of cross-transmission but was associated with a greatly increased risk of developing clinically overt C. difficile infection.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1: C. difficile acquisition in the medical ICU.

References

  1. Guh, A. Y. et al. Trends in U.S. Burden of Clostridioides difficile infection and outcomes. N. Engl. J. Med. 382, 1320–1330 (2020). This paper provides an estimate of the burden of CDI in the US, based on sampling from ten geographically diverse sites.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  2. Eyre, D. W. et al. Diverse sources of C. difficile infection identified on whole-genome sequencing. N. Engl. J. Med. 369, 1195–1205 (2013). This study performed WGS of CDI isolates from healthcare and community settings over multiple years to track transmission.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Crobach, M. J. T. et al. Understanding Clostridium difficile colonization. Clin. Microbiol. Rev. 31, e00021–17 (2018). A review that discusses the epidemiology and biology of C. difficile colonization.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  4. McDonald, L. C. et al. Clinical practice guidelines for Clostridium difficile infection in adults and children: 2017 update by the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA). Clin. Infect. Dis. 66, e1–e48 (2018). This paper provides guidance for the prevention of CDI in hospital settings.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  5. O’Connor, J. R., Johnson, S. & Gerding, D. N. Clostridium difficile infection caused by the epidemic BI/NAP1/027 strain. Gastroenterol. 136, 1913–1924 (2009). A review on the healthcare-associated ribotype 027 epidemic lineage of C. difficile.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Additional information

Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

This is a summary of: Miles-Jay, A. et al. Longitudinal genomic surveillance of carriage and transmission of Clostridioides difficile in an intensive care unit. Nat. Med. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-023-02549-4 (2023).

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Genomic epidemiology of Clostridioides difficile in individuals admitted to an intensive care unit. Nat Med 29, 2418–2419 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-023-02550-x

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-023-02550-x

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing Microbiology

Sign up for the Nature Briefing: Microbiology newsletter — what matters in microbiology research, free to your inbox weekly.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing: Microbiology