Dutch “Poop Bank” Will Offer Treatment, Research of C. diff
Going to the bathroom has deep meaning in the Netherlands – now that its first “poop bank” has opened.
The Dutch Donor Feces Bank (NDFB) is open for business at the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), bringing new reason and meaning to relieving oneself. The bank was set up in an effort to reduce the prevalence of infection by Clostridium difficile, or C. diff, bacteria in the human digestive tract.
There are about 3,000 reported C. diff cases in the Netherlands each year, often occurring after a course of strong antibiotics to treat other illnesses. In about 5% of cases, C. diff causes 3-5 daily bouts of foul-smelling, watery diarrhea, which may be bloody and is often accompanied by abdominal cramping and pain. About 5% of C. diff cases become chronic.
C. diff is extremely difficult to treat because the bacteria are very hearty and resistant to antibiotics – the same medications that cause it. Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), a.k.a. poop transplants, has been proven to help C. diff patients.
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