Definition of C. diff
plural C. diff
also C-diff
: a rod-shaped, spore-producing, gram-positive bacterial clostridium (Clostridium difficile) that occurs widely in soil and water and sometimes in human and animal intestines and that may produce a toxin causing intestinal illness (such as diarrhea) especially in those receiving antibiotic therapy
- Many healthy people harbor a few C. diff among the millions of bacteria in the colon. When C. diff hangs out in the form of inert spores, it's harmless. But if antibiotic therapy knocks off the normal bacteria, C. diff springs to life, producing two toxins that attack the colon.
- —Harvey B. Simon
