title: Clostridium difficile infection and intestinal microbiota interactions.
abstract: Clostridium difficile remains the leading cause of healthcare-associated diarrhoea and outbreaks continue to occur worldwide. Aside from nosocomial C. difficile infection, the bacterium is also increasingly important as a community pathogen. Furthermore, asymptomatic carriage of C. difficile in neonates, adults and animals is also well recognised. The investigation of the gut's microbial communities, in both healthy subjects and patients suffering C. difficile infection (CDI), provides findings and information relevant for developing new successful approaches for its treatment, such as faecal microbiota transplantation, or for the prophylaxis of the infection by modification of the gut microbiota using functional foods and beverages. The analysis of all available data shows new insights into the role of intestinal microbiota in health and disease.
authors.affiliation: Food Science Department, FARAH, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium. Electronic address: c.rodriguez@ulg.ac.be.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rodriguez
authors.affiliation: Food Science Department, FARAH, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Taminiau
authors.affiliation: Belgian Reference Centre for Clostridium difficile (NRC), Pôle de Microbiologie Médicale, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Van Broeck
authors.affiliation: Belgian Reference Centre for Clostridium difficile (NRC), Pôle de Microbiologie Médicale, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Delmée
authors.affiliation: Food Science Department, FARAH, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Daube
mesh_terms: D016360:Clostridioides difficile / Q000254:growth & development*; D003015:Clostridium Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D000069196:Gastrointestinal Microbiome; D006801:Humans; D056265:Microbial Interactions
keywords: Clostridium difficile; Colonisation; Infection; Intestinal microbiota