It's a wrap! #ICDS2026 has come to an end. As usual, flawless execution, great crowd. There will be another ICDS in two years - but not organised by Maja Rupnik anymore. Lots of respect and appreciation for what she has done over the past decades for the #cdiff community.

Look what arrived in the mail! @SpringerNature @AuchtungJ – at Leyden, The Netherlands

Awesome #aurora from our home balcony. Brightest I have seen in The Netherlands to date! (only one picture, straight from camera, no edits)

November is #CdiffAwarenessMonth. Amazing work by Lizah vd Aart turned my idea into a cartoon to help explain why antibiotics are a risk factor for #CDI. More to come! The English version is supported by the #ESGCD (@ESCMID). Let me know if you think these cartoons are useful!

PolC inhibitors are new-to-nature; we saw no pre-existing resistance, and PolC inhibitors are active against drug resistant bacteria like VRE and MRSA. 7/9

We identify a key residue for susceptibility: a Phe that is part of the induced binding pocket. An equivalent mutation in #Cdiff also increases the MIC. Not all identified mutations have the same effects, suggesting that this is a feature that can be engineered. 6/9

We generated structures of E. faecium PolC in the presence of DNA, with or without IBZ or ACX-801. The compounds sit where you would expect dGTP to be. Key finding: the inhibitors adopt a "hook" shape that slots into an induced pocket. 5/9

Our work focuses on ibezapolstat (for treatment of #Cdifficile infections #CDI) and a novel compound from a series that is intended to target other pathogens, like #VRE and #MRSA. ACX-801 was selected on the basis of excellent inhibition of PolC in vitro. 4/9

Looking back at a great #clostpath2025 (Paris), and ahead to #icds2026 (Bled) and #clostpath2027 (Rio de Janeiro).

Midnight microbiology #noctiluca #katwijk #magic #northsea