Many patients in hospitals worry about getting MRSA, but there is another super bug becoming more prevalent. It's called clostridium difficile or C. Diff for short.
The CDC says C. diff is a hospital superbug and one of the most urgent bacterial threats in the U.S. today. C. diff is a bacteria that causes intestinal disease and results in more than 14,000 fatalities each year.Older adults and people who have had antibiotic treatment or spent time spent in hospitals or nursing homes are at the highest risk. Dr. Alpa Patel is a lead investigator on a vaccine in development to prevent C Diff.
"This bacteria can take over and destroy the gut lining leading to severe diarrhea that a lot of times can be life-threatening for these patients,"said Patel, of the Jacksonville Center for Clinical Research.
The Jacksonville study site where Patel does her research is one of the first in the country. The first Phase III clinical trial program for a vaccine to prevent C. diff began in August, so the site in Jacksonville is currently recruiting patients to participate in the clinical trial.
For more information, visit www.cdiffense.org.