Role of the environment in the transmission of Clostridium difficile in health care facilities

Recent data demonstrate that the contaminated hospital surface environment plays a key role in the transmission of Clostridium difficile. Enhanced environmental cleaning of rooms housing Clostridium difficile-infected patients is warranted, and, if additional studies demonstrate a benefit of no-touch methods (eg, ultraviolet irradiation, hydrogen peroxide systems), their routine use should be considered. Copyright (C) 2013 by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.