Clostridium difficile infections have developed into a virtual pandemic over the past two decades. The outcome of standard antibiotic treatment is unsatisfactory: the recurrence rates are high with every relapse increasing the risk of further follow-ups. Faecal microbiota transplantation offers a rapidly acting and highly effective alternative in treating recurrent Clostridium difficile infections (RCDI), as Professor Lawrence J. Brandt (Montefiore Medical Center, New York, USA) points out. According to him, more than 90 per cent of the patients are being cured within a short period of time. Further information on this issue - one of many topics presented at the 2nd World Summit "Gut Microbiota For Health" in Madrid, Spain, from 24 to 26 February 2013 - can be found at http://bit.ly/SUN24PR.
To keep themselves up to date on the rapidly increasing advances in the field of gut microbiota research, scientists and health-care professionals came together at the 2nd Gut Microbiota For Health World Summit. This year, the event was hosted by the Gut Microbiota & Health Section of the European Society of Neurogastroenterology and Motility (ESNM) - a member of United European Gastroenterology (UEG) - and the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA), with the support of Danone Dairy.
Study projects global antibiotic use to rise by over 50% by 2030