Dec 23 (Reuters) - Merck ( MRK ) will discontinue its

drug for a bacterial infection that can lead to fatal diarrhea,

the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's website showed on

Monday.

The antibody drug, Zinplava, was first approved by the

regulator in 2016 to prevent the recurrence of Clostridioides

difficile infections (CDI).

CDI is generally caused by prolonged use of antibiotics, and

can lead to potentially fatal diarrhea and inflammation of the

colon.

The drugmaker did not immediately comment on the matter.

Zinplava will be discontinued on Jan. 31, the regulator's

website showed, but no reason was cited for the decision.

(Reporting by Puyaan Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini

Ganguli)