Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is an intestinal infection usually acquired in hospital settings, after antibiotic treatment. The clinical spectrum of CDI ranges from mild diarrhoea to severe life-threatening pseudomembranous colitis. In the recent years, an increased incidence of CDI has been reported in Europe and worldwide.
This review outlines how increasing modalities of travel, such as aeromedical evacuation of civilians and of military personnel, medical tourism and any shared healthcare across countries, are risks for the transmission of multidrug-resistant organisms via the patient, from country to country.