Infectious Disease Patient Education

Clostridium Difficile

C. Difficile is a bacterium that can cause symptoms ranging from diarrhea to life-threatening inflammation of the colon.  Illness from C. difficile most commonly affects older adults in hospitals or in long-term care facilities and typically occurs after use of antibiotic medications, however, studies have shown increasing rates of C. difficile infection among people traditionally not considered high risk, such as younger and healthy individuals without a history of antibiotic use or other obvious exposure.  Each year, more than a half million people get sick from C. diff, and in recent years, these  infections have become more frequent, severe, and difficult to treat.

MRSA

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection is caused by a type of staph bacteria that has become resistant to many of the antibiotics used to treat ordinary staph infections.  Most MRSA infections occur in people who've been in hospitals or other health care settings but can also occur in the wider population among healthy people.  LIDC can help to treat and eradicate recurrent MRSA infections.

Hepatitis C

Hepatitis C is a liver disease caused by the hepatitis C virus, called HCV for short. The virus primarily effects the liver, and is spread by contact with the blood of a person who has the infection.  If left untreated, the virus can cause extensive liver damage and even death.  Generally, people with chronic infection of hepatitis C have no symptoms until they have extensive scarring of the liver (cirrhosis). Some individuals, however, may have fatigue and other non-specific symptoms before this occurs.  Much progress has been made in the treatment of Hepatitis C. The rate of cure has increased (above 90%-95%) with the development of direct-acting, all-oral antiviral medications.  The CDC recommends that all  adults born between 1945 and 1965 be screened for Hepatitis C.

Safe Healthcare Blog Posts - CDC