C. diff
[ ˈsē-ˈdif]
[ˈsē-ˈdif]
variants: or less commonly C-diff
: a rod-shaped, spore-producing, gram-positive bacterial clostridium (Clostridium difficile) that occurs widely in soil and water and sometimes in human and animal intestines and that may produce a toxin causing intestinal illness (such as diarrhea) especially in those receiving antibiotic therapy
Many healthy people harbor a few C. diff among the millions of bacteria in the colon. When C. diff hangs out in the form of inert spores, it's harmless. But if antibiotic therapy knocks off the normal bacteria, C. diff springs to life, producing two toxins that attack the colon.— Harvey B. Simon First Known Use of C. diff
1990, in the meaning defined above
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