There's a nasty germ in town, and it's competing for space in your gut. The germ in question is called Clostridium difficile, better known as C. difficile or C. diff. It's potentially fatal and cases are rising at an alarming rate according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

But you can take steps to help keep you and your loved ones from developing this bacterial infection.

C. diff causes diarrhea and can lead to more serious disorders such as colitis (inflammation of the colon) and sepsis (a life-threatening infection). The germ was a factor in almost 300,000 U.S. hospitalizations in 2005 and contributed to the deaths of about 5,500 Americans in 2004 -- those stats are nearly double the levels from the year 2000.

C. diff belongs to a growing list of superbugs (named for their resistance to antibiotics) that includes the staph infection MRSA. Drugs that once killed these infections have become less effective -- some no longer work at all. C. diff poses an additional challenge because, while antibiotics might not kill the C. diff bacteria, they do kill other bacteria competing for the same space. With those less dangerous bacteria out of the way, the resistant C. diff flourishes.