Infectious Agent: C. difficile is a type of bacteria that can make people sick, especially in their stomach and intestines.
Reservoirs: C. difficile can be found inside the bodies of patients, mainly in their colon, or it can live on things like surfaces and medical equipment.
Portals of Exit: C. difficile leaves the patient’s body through their poop (feces) when they have an infection.
Modes of Transmission: It can spread when healthcare workers or patients touch things that have C. difficile on them, or when people touch each other.
Portals of Entry: C. difficile gets into a person’s body through their mouth, usually when they touch something dirty and then put their hands in their mouth or eat contaminated food or drink dirty water.
Susceptible Host: People who are more likely to get sick from C. difficile are those taking antibiotics, with weak immune systems, or who recently had stomach procedures. They are more at risk of getting infected.