My husband has been diagnosed with clostridium difficile, which began 48 hours after he had a colonoscopy. He had been taking amoxicillin for 10 days. If this was caused by the antibiotic, is it still contagious? Can it be transmitted to family members by use of the same toilet as the patient, or by other means? What safeguards can we use to avoid transmittal of the clostridium difficile?

Maureen

Clostridium difficile, or "C. diff" as it is known, is a bacterial infection of the colon (large intestine). The C. diff. bacterium produces a toxin that causes inflammation of the colon wall, leading to diarrhea and sometimes fever and abdominal pain. The condition usually develops during or after treatment with antibiotics; presumably this occurs because the antibiotic alters the normal bacterial balance of the colon, allowing overgrowth of the C. diff. Amoxicillin is one of the most common medicines linked to C. diff infection, but almost any antibiotic may be associated with it.

Fortunately this condition is treatable with an oral antibiotic (vancomycin and metronidazole are most often prescribed) that will eliminate the bug. The infection is not contagious to family members under ordinary circumstances, but the organism is excreted in the stool. Therefore, I suggest that you take normal precautions: Don't share utensils, and your husband should wash his hands after going to the bathroom until he has been treated. Otherwise, you need not worry about catching it.