Study: Lesser-Known Superbug a Bigger Hospital Threat

ATLANTA – A new study finds that as one superbug seems to be fading as a threat in hospitals, another is on the rise.

A study of 28 hospitals in the Southeast found that a dangerous, drug-resistant staph infection called MRSA is often seen as the biggest germ threat to patients in hospitals and other health care facilities. But infections from Clostridium difficile — known as C-diff — are surpassing MRSA infections.

The rate of hospital-acquired C-diff infections was 25 percent higher than MRSA infections.

C-diff is resistant to some antibiotics. It's found in the colon and can cause diarrhea and a more serious intestinal condition known as colitis.

Deaths from C-diff traditionally were rare, but a more dangerous form has emerged in the past ten years.