C. DIFFICILE OUTBREAKS HIGHLIGHT NEED FOR RAPID DETECTION

Recently, outbreaks of C. difficile Associated Diarrhea (CDAD) have made headlines in the United States, Canada and Europe.  The strain identified as a toxinotype III strain initially gained attention last year as Canadian hospitals fought a public battle with several hospital-based outbreaks.  It has been no surprise that the CDC has confirmed the presence of the strain in at least nine states in the US.  Recent reports from the UK and the Netherlands identify a ribotype 027, toxinotype III strain as being responsible for several outbreaks and related deaths. 

The outbreak strain is of concern because it appears to not only have a heightened virulence, but the strain may also have some antibiotic resistance making treatment more difficult.  Hospitals in the United States have reported cases of C. difficile in patients not thought to be at risk for developing this traditionally nosocomial infection.  Because the strain has led to increased morbidity and mortality among these patients, the need for early detection and isolation has concurrently increased. 

Diagnostic testing for the toxinotype III outbreak strain can be done by several methods.  The Gold Standard is the Cytotoxin test.  Although highly sensitive, results are not available for 24-72 hours.  Meridian Bioscience offers several assays for detection of either the C. difficile common antigen, or C. difficile toxins.  Among the C. difficile line of products, Meridian features two Enzyme Immunoassays that allow for both fast and accurate detection of the organism.  The Premier^™ Toxins A&B kit is a sensitive, specific microwell assay designed for high volume laboratories.  The Premier kit has a sensitivity of 94.7% and provides results within 60 minutes.  Meridian Bioscience also offers ImmunoCard® Toxins A&B, which is a rapid card format test that has a 98% correlation with Cytotoxin testing.  ImmunoCard results are available in approximately 15 minutes.  Hospitals and laboratories worldwide trust Meridian for rapid and accurate detection of the outbreak strain.

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