Wouldn’t it get killed off by antibiotics too? Or It is it just naturally more immune to them? But even if that’s the case how can a C.diff infection be treated by antibiotics then?
In: Biology
It all comes down to type of antibiotics. Each class of antibiotic has a different mechanism of action, such as inhibiting protein synthesis by targeting different processes in the protein synthesis pathway, inhibiting bacterial cell wall growth, inhibiting ATP synthesis and so forth. C diff infections can arise when taking broad-spectrum antibiotics for other infections. Since C diff is normal flora in our GI tract (normally not a problem until they replicate to large amounts) it can become prevalent when surrounding bacteria are killed by said antibiotics but aren’t affected and are able to grow and replicate. This is the concept of “competition” and space in the GI tract. To then treat C diff you would use more specifically targeted antibiotics. That’s why it’s suggested you eat yogurt or take probiotics when on antibiotics, so as to replace the commensalistic bacteria that are being killed
So my knowledge is limited but I’ll explain it as best as I understood it and hopefully get it mostly right.
Basically, there’s a lot of bacteria inside our bodies at all times and for the most part it’s actually good for us. When you take antibiotics, those drugs don’t see a difference between good and bad bacteria – they just kill it all. Without the healthy bacteria in our system keeping it in check, a C diff infection can actually grow far more easily.
Hopefully someone who knows more can explain it better.
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