When you get sick, the obvious response is to want to get better as soon as possible, but don't rush to your doctor and demand antibiotics just yet. Ohio health officials are now looking into the possibility that the misuse and overuse of antibiotics are causing higher death rates from one deadly bacteria.

The bacteria is called Clostridium difficile, also known as C. diff.

C. diff lives in the intestines of 30 percent of the population, and usually it's no problem, but health officials say the medicines that fight off infections can actually help C. diff develop.

"If you are using antibiotics you could develop a problem with C. diff," said East Ohio Regional Hospital Associate Administrator Anne Hellstern. "When you're sick, strong antibiotics kill off the bad bacteria, but it can also kill some normal flora in the body that helps keep you healthy."

It's that flora, or "good bacteria" that keeps C. diff in check. Hellstern said that when the flora is gone, clostridium difficile can grow, causing conditions that could potentially be deadly.

"Material from your colon could go into the rest of your system and cause poison or even death," she said.

There is also a new strain of C. diff that is harder to treat, which could be the reason Ohio has seen a dramatic increase in C. diff cases over the past five years.

According to published reports, Clostridium difficile killed nearly 500 Ohioans in 2005, which is up from only 114 in 2000.

Reports say C. diff was also a contributing factor in another 300 deaths statewide.

With such a sharp increase, the Ohio Department of Health is now requiring hospitals and nursing homes to report each initial and recurring case of C. diff for the next six months.

"The Ohio Department of Health wants to study the numbers coming in to see if there is really a concern or if the reporting procedures are just better now," said Belmont County Health Director Rusty Vermillion. "We're not really concerned about the number of cases, again, I think it's a fact that we're doing better reporting."

Statewide, hospitals and nursing homes combined have reported more than 1,500 cases of C. diff since the beginning of January.

Here are the initial and recurring cases reported in the local Ohio counties:

BELMONT: 14

CARROLL: 14

COLUMBIANA: 54

GUERNSEY: 2

HARRISON: 1

JEFFERSON: 19

MONROE: 1

NOBLE: 2

TUSCARAWAS: 24

People in good health usually aren't affected by C. diff, but health officials say that those with compromised immune systems or the elderly are at higher risk.

Symptoms include diarrhea, fever and abdominal pain, but experts say 95 percent of patients will recover.

"We don't want to scare the public by any means," said Hellstern. "What we want is for them to be is smart consumers."

That means careful use of antibiotics.

"You should always listen to your physicians advice and take that antibiotic when you really need it, take the antibiotics as prescribed, and take the doses he prescribes," Hellstern said.

Plus, you should never take an antibiotic prescribed for someone else.

For more information on Clostridium difficile, visit these websites:

Centers For Disease Control and Prevention

Ohio Department of Health

Jill Del Greco, NEWS9