Clostridium difficile infection historical perspective

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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]

Overview

• Clostridium difficile was first isolated during an experiment in 1935 from health neonates. Following isolation, the bacterium was originally named Bacillus difficilis.
• The bacterium was named difficile because isolation process during the original experiment was difficult.
• The association between C. difficile and antibiotic-associated diarrhea was first made in 1978 following among patients exposed to clindamycin.
• In 2003, a resistant, hypervirulent strain of C. difficile (NAP/BI/027 strain) with increased synthesis of toxins A and B was first identified. The emergence of the new strain was attributed to fluoroquinolone administration.