Scientists make critical progress toward preventing C. diff infections

Each year, about 500,000 people in the U.S. deal with gastrointestinal infections from Clostridioides difficile (C. diff), and more than 20,000 die from these infections. A new study performed in mice has identified a compound that prevented C. diff infection caused by multiple strains of the bacterium, including those that cause serious illness. Researchers are now using this compound to develop new drug candidates that might eventually offer a way to prevent serious C. diff infections in people.