STORY AT-A-GLANCE The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 15,000 die every year from Clostridium difficile, a bacterium that may trigger watery diarrhea, fever, dehydration and kidney failure. It is evolving to a superbug, and has adapted to sugars commonly found in a Western diet. It also produces spores capable of resisting disinfectants Antibiotics are what has turned this minor player, accounting for up to 3% of bacteria in normal flora, to a major health concern; when antibiotics disrupt the normal flora, harmful bacteria such as C. diff are able to thrive and spread in the environment Although fecal transplants are new to Western medicine, they were reportedly being used as far back as 1,700 years ago. Colonoscopies have been the most successful means of using the treatment, but they come with risks; one study compared administration using capsules or colonoscopy and found a 96.2% prevention of recurrence in both groups Fecal transplants should only be ...