Increase in<i>Clostridium difficile</i>–related Mortality Rates, United States, 1999<b>–</b>2004

Abstract

Reported mortality rates from Clostridium difficile disease in the United States increased from 5.7 per million population in 1999 to 23.7 per million in 2004. Increased rates may be due to emergence of a highly virulent strain of C. difficile. Rates were higher for whites than for other racial/ethnic groups.