Clostridioides difficile

Clostridioides difficile (formerly Clostridium difficile) is a spore-forming bacterium that can cause potentially life-threatening gastrointestinal diseases, primarily diarrhea and colitis, particularly in individuals with bacterial dysbiosis. It can lead to recurrent infections in nearly 30% of infected individuals. The incidence of C. difficile enterocolitis is rising, and antibiotic treatment often proves ineffective. Approximately 30% of patients relapse after initial antibiotic therapy, and in 10% of cases, C. difficile is resistant to antimicrobial medications. One of established treatments for C. difficile infection is fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), which aims to restore a healthy microbial community in the patient’s gut.