title: The prospect for vaccines to prevent Clostridium difficile infection.
abstract: Clostridium difficile is a spore-forming anaerobic gram-positive organism that is the leading cause of antibiotic-associated nosocomial infectious diarrhea in the Western world. This article describes the evolving epidemiology of C difficile infection (CDI) in the twenty-first century, evaluates the importance of vaccines against the disease, and defines the roles of both innate and adaptive host immune responses in CDI. The effects of passive immunotherapy and active vaccination against CDI in both humans and animals are also discussed.
authors: Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center, 455 First Avenue, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10016, USA. Electronic address: cghose@adarc.org.
authors: Chandrabali
authors: C
authors: Ghose
authors: Division of Gastroenterology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, 330 Brookline Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USA.
authors: Ciarán P
authors: CP
authors: Kelly
mesh_terms: D056704:Adaptive Immunity / Q000502:physiology; D001427:Bacterial Toxins / Q000276:immunology; D001428:Bacterial Vaccines / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016360:Clostridioides difficile / Q000276:immunology*; D003015:Clostridium Infections / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000517:prevention & control; D006801:Humans; D007113:Immunity, Innate / Q000502:physiology; D007116:Immunization, Passive / Q000379:methods*; D007410:Intestinal Diseases / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D014611:Vaccination
chemical_list: D001427:Bacterial Toxins; D001428:Bacterial Vaccines
keywords: Clostridium difficile; Infection; Passive immunotherapy; Vaccinations