The AGES Institute for Medical Microbiology and Hygiene (IMED) in Vienna was entrusted with the tasks of a National Reference Centre for Clostridium difficile as of 2010.
Services provided
- Cultivation of C. difficile from stool and other clinical samples
- Detection of Clostridium difficile by means of phenotypic and genotypic methods
- Detection of toxigenic Clostridium difficile strains by means of ELISA and biomolecular methods
- Ribotyping of all isolates
- Resistance testing of virulent isolates and by agreement
- Participation in European round robin tests, studies and projects
- Maintaining a reference strain collection
- Providing advice on questions of diagnostics, epidemiology, therapy, measures and prevention
- Reporting
Special notes: Samples submitted should always be labelled with information on the origin of the isolates as well as with the necessary patient, clinical and epidemiological data. To supply this information, please use the relevant submission form. Fresh cultures in their transport medium are most suitable for dispatching the strains. On the containers, the medical and diagnostic testing materials must be specified.
AGES - Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety
