Detection and Analysis of Clostridioides difficile Spores in a Hospital Environment

, due to its long survival time in a hospital environment, is considered to be one of the most frequent factors in healthcare-associated infections. Patient care requires not only rapid and accurate diagnosis, but also knowledge of individual risk factors for infections, e.g., with , in various clinical conditions. The goal of this study was to analyse the degree of contamination of a hospital environment with spores. Culturing was performed using C diff Banana Broth medium, which enables germination of the spores of these bacteria. Samples were collected from inanimate objects within a hospital environment in a specialist hospital in Poland. The results of the study demonstrated the presence of 18 positive samples of spp. (15.4%). Of these, spores were detected in six samples, in eight samples, in two samples and and in one sample each. Among the six samples of , a total of four strains which produce the B toxin were cultured. The binary toxin related to ribotype 027 was not detected in our study. Nosocomial infection risk management is a significant problem, mainly concerning the issues of hygiene maintenance, cleaning policy and quality control, and awareness of infection risk.