A study out this week says the number of hospitalizations with the intestinal superbug known as C-diff has doubled in recent years, and the percentage of people dying from C-diff is also doubling.
Clostridium difficile is a bacterium that causes diarrhea and more serious intestinal conditions such as colitis. People over the age of 65 and those in hospitals and long term care facilities are at highest risk.
In Ohio, surprisingly, current statistics on C-diff are difficult to come by. Dr. Forrest Smith is the state epidemiologist and works with the Ohio Department of Health.