Recurrent Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) occurs in 20-30% of patients following successful treatment of an initial episode of CDI. Defects in the gut microbiota, the indigenous bacterial community within the gastrointestinal tract, are hypothesized to contribute to the development of recurrence. Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) has emerged as an effective treatment for recurrent CDI; however, the specific microbes and their functional role in clearance of recurrent CDI remain elusive. This talk will cover our current understanding about the microbiome's involvement in CDI, and recent developments in a project investigating the recovery of the microbiome following FMT in patients with recurrent CDI and a mouse model of disease.
Sponsored by the Host Microbiome Initiative