C. difficile

Contact Info

Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Prevention and Control Division

651-201-5414

If someone in your home has been diagnosed by their health care provider with C. difficile infection, follow these prevention steps:

Practice good hand hygiene.

Always wash your hands with soap and warm water after using the bathroom, before preparing food or eating, and after diapering a child or caring for an ill person.
- Hand Hygiene
  For detailed information on hand hygiene, visit MDH’s hand hygiene page.

Regularly clean areas of your home that may become contaminated with C. difficile.

Clean household surfaces such as countertops, sinks, faucets, bathroom doorknobs, and toilets regularly using warm/hot water with any household soap or any bleach-containing household cleaning product.
- Do not apply undiluted bleach directly to surfaces.

Reminder: Do not demand an antibiotic prescription; let your health care provider determine when antibiotics are necessary.

Prevent the spread of C. difficile and any diarrheal illness by practicing good hand hygiene and regularly cleaning objects (such as mouthed toys) and surfaces. Children with diarrhea should be excluded until the diarrhea stops or until a medical exam indicates it is not due to a communicable disease (see information below for specific exclusion criteria).

Practice good hand hygiene.

Always wash your hands after using the bathroom, helping children use the bathroom/changing diapers, and preparing food or eating.
Teach children proper hand hygiene, and help younger children wash their hands.
Detailed information on hand hygiene for childcare can be found in the Infectious Diseases in Childcare Settings and Schools Manual.

Cleaning surfaces, spills, and accidents

Wear gloves whenever cleaning bodily fluids (blood, vomit, stool, urine), wash hands after removing gloves.
Detailed instructions on cleaning specific items or areas can be found in the Infectious Diseases in Childcare Settings and Schools Manual.

Exclusion Policies

For information on childcare exclusion policies, please see the recommendations in section 1 of the Infectious Diseases in Childcare Settings and Schools Manual.