This morning, the Centers for Disease Control released a stunning report on the number of children afflicted with Clostridium difficile infections each year. From the CDC’s press release:

According to preliminary CDC data, an estimated 17,000 children aged 1 through 17 years get C. difficile infections every year.  The Pediatrics study found that there was no difference in the incidence of C. difficile infection among boys and girls, and that the highest numbers were seen in white children and those between the ages of 12 and 23 months.

The research published in the medical journal Pediatrics,  noted the following regarding C. diff infections in children:

• 71% of  of the cases of C. diff infection identified among children aged 1 through 17 years were community-associated
•  73% were prescribed antibiotics during the 12 weeks prior to their illness, usually in an outpatient setting such as a doctor’s office
• Most of the children who received antibiotics were being treated for ear, sinus, or upper respiratory infections.

A key way for us to begin to reverse the striking number of infections in children is more prudent use of antibiotics. Check out the entire blog post, “C. diff in Our Kids: A Call to Action,” on the CDC’s website.

Please also read the first hand accounts of having children with C. diff from to two mothers, Angela and Gina, who were are committed to help spread awareness and help other parents avoid having their kids suffer from this dangerous infection.