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.
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