The ESCMID Study Group for Clostridium difficile: History, Role and Perspectives.

C. difficile is a major nosocomial pathogen, but is also increasingly recognised as an important diarrhoeal pathogen in the community, not always associated with antibiotics. The European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) Study Group for Clostridium difficile (ESGCD) is a group of clinicians and scientists from many European countries and further afield, who share a common interest in C. difficile. The aims of the Study Group are centred around raising the profile of CDI in humans and animals, fostering collaboration amongst centres in different European countries and providing a forum for discussing and disseminating information. One of the principal aims of the Study Group is to raise awareness of C. difficile infections in European hospitals. ESGCD has a particular interest in the development and dissemination of European guidance on prevention, diagnosis and treatment of CDI. This chapter will discuss the organisation of ESGCD within the ESCMID Study Group structure, the origins of the Study Group, the aims and objectives of the group, and will highlight some of the past and present activities of ESGCD in relation to these.