Meridian Bioscience Inc. said Tuesday that the Food and Drug Administration has given approval to market Meridian's test for Clostridium difficile.

Meridian, a medical test developer and maker, said it takes less than an hour to run the assay for illumigene C. difficile, a bacterium that can cause diarrhea and colitis.

C. difficile is associated with drug-resistant infections.

In afternoon trading, Meridian stock advanced $1.45, or 8.3 percent, to $18.97 on Tuesday.