Active immunization against clostridium difficile disease
The invention provides active and passive immunization methods for preventing and treating Clostridium difficile infection, which involve percutaneous administration of C. difficile toxin-neutralizing polyclonal immune globulin, C. difficile toxoids, or combinations thereof. Also provided by the invention are C. difficile toxoids, C. difficile toxin-neutralizing polyclonal immune globulin, and methods of identifying subjects that produce C. difficile toxin-neutralizing polyclonal immune globulin.
1. A method of preventing or treating symptomatic Clostridium difficile infection in a human patient, said method comprising percutaneously administering an effective amount of a clostridial toxoid to said human patient.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein said toxoid is a Clostridium difficile toxoid.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein said patient has or is at risk of developing recurrent Clostridium difficile associated diarrhea.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein said clostridial toxoid is intramuscularly, intravenously, or subcutaneously administered to said human patient.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein said patient does not have, but is at risk of developing symptomatic Clostridium difficile infection.
6. The method of claim 1 wherein said patient has symptomatic Clostridium difficile infection.