Chicago—Exposure to specific antibiotics is linked to the development of certain strains of antibiotic-resistant C difficile infection (CDI), one of the fastest growing bacteria superbugs, according to a new study published in the journal Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy. Researchers from the Loyola University Health System and the Hines Veterans Affairs Medical Center identified 143 patients with first-episode CDI between 2005 and 2007 at one U.S. hospital. Of those, 72% were found to be infected with the BI/NAP1/027 C difficile strain, which is highly resistant to fluoroquinolones and macrolides. The study revealed that most of the patients had received multiple antibiotics within 6 weeks of being diagnosed with CDI. Fluoroquinolone and macrolide exposure were more frequent in patients with B1 strains, according to the results, and the C difficile bacteria recovered from the stool specimens of these B1-infected patients also showed high-level resistance to these antibiotics.

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