Presence of the Epidemic North American Pulsed Field Type 1 Clostridium Difficile Strain in Hospitalized Children

A hypervirulent strain of Clostridium difficile-labeled North American Pulsed Field type 1 causes severe disease in adults. To determine the prevalence of NAP1 C. difficile in children, organisms from consecutive C. difficile toxin-positive stool samples at 2 children's hospitals microbiology laboratories were characterized. We found that 19.4% of these samples were NAP1. (J Pediatr 2009;154:607-8)