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Clostridium diff.
- Question
- Dear expert team,
A good friend (30 years old) was diagnosed with small numbers of clostridium diff. through a stool test.
During some internet research I read that these can be infectious and that they have to be considered a normal intestinal germ in healthy people.
I am a CF patient and PSA positive, am taking Zithromax® (azithromycin) as permanent therapy and am not exactly stable with regard to the intestinal flora due to the antibiotics. I also just had an i.v. therapy.
What should one do? Would keeping a distance be better for now? My friend visits quite often and we spend a lot of our spare time together.
Many thanks. - Answer
- Hello,
In patients who are taking antibiotics, clostridium causes intestinal infections through a change in the intestinal flora - a frequent problem in the hospitals. Transmission happens via the stool, not by droplet infection like Pseudomonas, etc. Despite frequent antibiotics therapies, CF patients rarely get intestinal infections through clostridium.
Assuming you are following the known hygiene measures for CF patients, you really do not have to worry about getting infected. A lot more people than is known have cloristidium in the stool without having symptoms, and thus are not sick. So no worries, visitis still allowed.
Kind regards
Prof. Joachim Bargon - 15.01.2013
