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  • Title: Intestinal colonization with Clostridium difficile in infants up to 18 months of age.
    Author: Tullus K, Aronsson B, Marcus S, Möllby R.
    Journal: Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis; 1989 May; 8(5):390-3. PubMed ID: 2502403.
    Abstract:
    The faecal colonization with Clostridium difficile was investigated among 343 infants during their first 18 months of life. Rectal swabs were taken at the ages of 6 days, 6 weeks, 6 months, 11 months and 18 months. About 25% of the children were colonized with Clostridium difficile between 6 days and 6 months of age. The colonization rate decreased to 3% at 18 months of age. The rate of strains producing cytotoxin was low in infants less than 6 months of age, but at that age about half of the strains isolated were toxin-producing. Breast-fed children were significantly less often colonized with Clostridium difficile than were bottle-fed infants, both at 6 weeks of age (21% versus 47%, p less than 0.05) and at 6 months of age (19% versus 39%, p less than 0.001). Colonization with Clostridium difficile at 6 months of age was associated with a greater frequency of diarrhoeal disease between 6 and 11 months of age (27% versus 16%, p less than 0.05). This association was even more pronounced when the bacteria persisted at 11 months of age (54%, p less than 0.01). Antibiotic therapy could not be demonstrated to influence colonization with Clostridium difficile at any age.
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