The bacterium Clostridioides difficile, which was formerly named Clostridium difficile and is now commonly known as C. difficile or simply C. diff, is a common microorganism found in the environment. In general, it doesn’t raise serious concerns for healthy individuals. However, some individuals who are taking antibiotics, particularly for long periods of time, experience disturbances in their normal balanced gut flora (microbiota) due to the antibiotics’ inadvertent killing of protective bacteria. This disruption can affect important immunoregulatory and metabolic functions, turning a relatively unnoticed organism into a harmful pathogen, raising serious healthcare concerns.

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