--- title: Deadly Stomach Bug Infects About 500,000 Americans Each Year: Study description: Antibiotics and hand sanitizers are no match for the bug, known as C. diff, which causes severe diarrhea, inflammation and sepsis. canonical: https://time.com/3724792/c-diff-stomach-bug-study/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-02-26T20:44:53.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T04:45:45.162Z article:section: Health og:title: Deadly Stomach Bug Infects About 500,000 Americans Each Year: Study og:description: Antibiotics and hand sanitizers are no match for the bug, known as C. diff, which causes severe diarrhea, inflammation and sepsis. og:url: https://time.com/3724792/c-diff-stomach-bug-study/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Deadly Stomach Bug Infects About 500,000 Americans Each Year: Study twitter:description: Antibiotics and hand sanitizers are no match for the bug, known as C. diff, which causes severe diarrhea, inflammation and sepsis. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Deadly Stomach Bug Infects About Half a Million in U.S. Each Year, Study Shows by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Feb 26, 2015 8:44 PM UTC by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Feb 26, 2015 8:44 PM UTC Nearly half a million Americans are infected by a deadly stomach bug every year, according to a recent report. A [study](http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1408913) funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that an estimated 453,000 cases of Clostridium difficile, or C. diff, infection in the United States in 2011, which resulted in 29,000 deaths. That’s almost double prior infection estimates. C. diff bacteria release toxins that drugs can’t fight; those infected usually contract it from hospitals or health care related settings, though sickness typically occurs after one leaves the hospital. A new, more severe strain of the bacteria was discovered in 2000\. Ordinary antibiotics and hand sanitizers are considered no match for the bug, which causes severe diarrhea, inflammation and sepsis. The CDC says that soap and water are essential to stopping its spread, [_NBC News_ reports](http://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/baddest-bug-c-diff-hits-half-million-americans-n312731). The Department of Health and Human Services will begin punishing hospitals that fail to reduce rates of C. diff in their facilities by 2017. _Read next:_ [_Measles Outbreak in U.S. Tops 150 Cases_](http://time.com/3719137/measles-cases-vaccines/?xid=time%5Freadnext) [_Listen to the most important stories of the day._](http://time.com/newsletter/the-brief/?sl%5Fautoplay=true&xid=spl-fullbrief-article) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3724792/c-diff-stomach-bug-study/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3724792/c-diff-stomach-bug-study/"},"headline":"Deadly Stomach Bug Infects About Half a Million in U.S. Each Year, Study Shows","datePublished":"2015-02-26T20:44:53.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T04:45:45.162Z","description":"Clostridium difficile, or C. diff, was linked to 27,000 deaths last year","url":"https://time.com/3724792/c-diff-stomach-bug-study/","keywords":["Infectious Disease"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Maya Rhodan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/infectious-disease/","name":"Infectious Disease"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3724792/c-diff-stomach-bug-study/","name":"Deadly Stomach Bug Infects About Half a Million in U.S. Each Year, Study Shows"}}]}] ```