title: Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhoea.
abstract: Clostridium difficile is an important nosocomial pathogen and the most frequently diagnosed cause of infectious hospital-acquired diarrhoea. Toxigenic strains usually produce toxin A and toxin B, which are the primary virulence factors of C. difficile. Some recently described strains produce an additional toxin, an adenosine-diphosphate ribosyltransferase known as binary toxin, the role of which in pathogenicity is unknown. There has been concern about the emergence of a hypervirulent fluoroquinolone-resistant strain of C. difficile in North America and Europe. The use of fluoroquinolone antimicrobials appears to be acting as a selective pressure in the emergence of this strain. In this review, we describe the current state of knowledge about C. difficile as a cause of diarrhoeal illness.
authors.affiliation: Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Elliott
authors.forename: B J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: C L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Golledge
authors.forename: T V
authors.initials: TV
authors.lastname: Riley
mesh_terms: D016360:Clostridioides difficile / Q000187:drug effects; D003015:Clostridium Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000382:microbiology*; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D004761:Enterocolitis, Pseudomembranous / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology; D024841:Fluoroquinolones / Q000494:pharmacology; D006801:Humans
chemical_list: D024841:Fluoroquinolones