News & Activities
C. difficile culture collection
The ESGCD culture collection of C. difficile is based in the Anaerobe Reference Laboratory at the University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, UK. Cultures are kept on beads at -80 degrees Celsius. Colleagues wishing to deposit isolates should apply to Dr. J.S. Brazier via email.
Jon Brazier
The collection is meant for collaborative study purposes and to act as a bank of European isolates representing those strains causing infections across Europe.
ESGCD Executive Committee Meeting, 21 April 2008
The following topics were covered in the meeting:
- Apologies: Michel Delmee to date
- Minutes of the last meeting in Brussels
- Matters arising from Minutes
- Annual report (Ian, Ed)
- Review of ECCMID 2008 – study group activities (Ian, Ed)
- Brief report on ECDC activities – including new surveillance project (Ed)
- Brief report on EU project (Ed)
- ECCMID 2009 (Helsinki, 16-19 May 2009) likely format of meeting and contents. Symposium topic/speakers/1 or 2 hours. Suggestions by 6 May
- PG workshop in Turkey in 2009?
- New committee from 2009
- Any other business
- Date and venue of next meeting (September/October in Brussels)
ESGCD Annual Business Meeting, 21 April 2008
The following topics were covered in the meeting:
- Report on activities of the Study Group in 2007 (Ian, Ed)
- Planned activities for 2008/2009 (Ian, Ed)
- ECCMID Helsinki – plans (Ian, all)
- The new committee – vacancies arising in 2009
- Discussion topics – for future (all)
- Suggestions of new activities from study group members
- Educational activities – workshops, postgraduate courses?
- AOB
Special Meeting of ESGCD with the European Centre of Disease Control (ECDC)
24 January 2006, Stockholm, SE
Clostridium difficile Meeting
The First Clostridium difficile International Symposium (FICDS) was held from 5 to 7 May 2004 in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia. With 91 participants from 19 countries (UK, USA, France, Germany, Slovenia, Sweden, Hungary, Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Singapore, Ireland, Australia, Japan, Iran, Turkey, Spain, Canada, Norway) the meeting provided a perfect environment for discussion and the exchange of ideas. The programme included different aspects of C. difficile research: clinical (human and veterinary), pathogenesis, alternative treatment methods, antibiotic resistance, genome sequencing, genetics and development of new genetic tools, sporulation, quorum sensing, typing methods, phages, large clostridial toxins, binary toxin, laboratory diagnostic, epidemiology, prevention of infection and environmental contamination, development of vaccines.
The nomenclature of C. difficile toxins and toxin genes was discussed and agreement on unified nomenclature was reached.
