FIG. 1.

Protection against C. difficile disease (diarrhea [solid bars] or death [hatched bars]) in hamsters vaccinated with combination parenteral-mucosal dosing regimens. Hamsters were either primed or boosted with inactivated C. difficile culture filtrate toxoid given by various mucosal routes in conjunction with i.m. administration. The outcomes for intestinal and systemic disease after clindamycin-C. difficile challenge are shown. Protection is defined as either the number of animals free of detectable diarrhea or the number of survivors, both as a percentage of the total number of animals per group. See Table 1 for a description of the immunization regimens used.