risk of c dif

i have just started chemo after having a tonsilectomy thogh the lyphoma was only found in the tonsil i'm still having chemo. my concern at the moment is the lady i work with herhusband has crohns diseae & they think he may have contracted c-dif would thismake her a carrier & put me at any risk?

[Kamal S Saini, MD, MRCP (UK), DM]

An asymptomatic "carrier state" may occur where a person may harbor clostridium difficile infection, but without any signs and symptoms. This is quite common, and such persons are known to spread infection. Potentially, your lady colleague, and indeed all other people you are in contact with, may be carriers.

Does this put you at risk? Well, in the oncology setting, clostridial infections are known to occur in gastrointestinal cancers, and in leukemias.

Your lymphoma chemotherapy puts you at some risk of infection, especially during the period of 7 to 14 days after each chemo cycle, when your WBC counts are low. However, there are much commoner potential sources of infection than your lady colleague whose husband had C.difficle.

Most infections in cancer patients are believed to be "endogenous" (originating inside the body) in origin, rather than acquired "exogenously" (originating outside the body).