Clostridioides difficile
Clostridioides difficile was formerly known as Clostridium difficile and is often called C. difficile or C. diff for short. C. difficile are bacteria/bugs that are normally found in the large intestine (bowel) and C. difficile is the primary cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhoea and C. difficile infection (CDI).
A small proportion (less than 1 in 20) of the healthy adult population carry a small amount of Clostridioides difficile and don't experience any problem with it. It is kept in check by the normal "good" bacteria of the intestine. However, when you take an antibiotic, some of the "good" bacteria die causing the Clostridioides difficile bacteria to multiply and you may get an infection in your large intestine.
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C. difficile infection CIDR events notified | 1871 | 1763 | 2056 | 2288 | 1733 | 1766 |
| Crude Incidence Rate*/100,000 population | 35.7 | 32.4 | 38.7 | 48.4 | 31.8 | 32.8 |
| C. difficile infection enhanced cases reported | 1877 | 1906 | 2030 | 2185 | 1707 | 1774 |
| Rate hospital-acquired** cases/10,000 BDU | 2.2 | 2.2 | 2.4 | 2.8 | 2.3 | 2.1 |
| C. difficile infection CIDR events notified, 2021 | 1766 |
|---|---|
| Crude Incidence Rate*/100,000 population | 32.8 |
| C. difficile infection enhanced cases reported, 2021 | 1774 |
| Rate hospital-acquired** cases/10,000 BDU | 2.1 |
*New and recurrent events
**New and recurrent cases associated with reporting hospitals
Figure 1. Number of CDI notifications by month and case type in Ireland, 2008-2021
Figure 2. Quarterly national rate of healthcare-associated CDI in Ireland, 2009-2021
Last updated: 14 December 2022