Key Takeaways

C. difficile causes more deaths among white patients than Black people or Hispanic individuals

White people account for 84% of C. difficile deaths

The infections are more common in metro areas and among patients in health care facilities

MONDAY, Oct. 20, 2025 (HealthDay News) — An opportunistic bacterial infection that causes deadly diarrhea is more likely to kill white patients than Black or Hispanic people, a new study says.

About 84% of deaths caused by Clostridioides difficile infections occur among white people, researchers reported in Atlanta Sunday at IDWeek, the joint annual meeting of America’s top infectious disease professional societies.

By comparison, Black patients account for 8% and Hispanic patients under 6% of deaths, researchers found.

The study

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