Isolation of Clostridium difficile from food animals in Slovenia

A total of 313 faecal samples from three pig farms and two cattle farms was collected, and Clostridium difficile was isolated from 133/257 piglet samples (51.8 %) and from 1/56 calf samples (1.8 %). Toxins were tested only in calf samples and were positive in 44.6 % (25/56). The only bovine isolate belonged to toxinotype XIa (A−B−CDT+). Porcine isolates belonged to toxinotype 0 (A+B+CDT−) and toxinotype V (A+B+CDT+). Of the two ribotypes usually found in toxinotype V, the strains isolated in this study showed a greater similarity to ribotype 066 than to ribotype 078.

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Clostridioides (Clostridium) Difficile in Food-Producing Animals, Horses and Household Pets: A Comprehensive Review

Microorganisms ◽

10.3390/microorganisms7120667 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 7 (12) ◽

pp. 667 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Melina Kachrimanidou ◽

Eleni Tzika ◽

George Filioussis

Keyword(s):

Clostridium Difficile ◽

Control Strategies ◽

Clinical Signs ◽

Laboratory Diagnosis ◽

Human Infection ◽

Current Evidence ◽

Public Health Issue ◽

Food Animals ◽

Ribotype 078 ◽

And Control

Clostridioides (Clostridium) difficile is ubiquitous in the environment and is also considered as a bacterium of great importance in diarrhea-associated disease for humans and different animal species. Food animals and household pets are frequently found positive for toxigenic C. difficile without exposing clinical signs of infection. Humans and animals share common C. difficile ribotypes (RTs) suggesting potential zoonotic transmission. However, the role of animals for the development of human infection due to C. difficile remains unclear. One major public health issue is the existence of asymptomatic animals that carry and shed the bacterium to the environment, and infect individuals or populations, directly or through the food chain. C. difficile ribotype 078 is frequently isolated from food animals and household pets as well as from their environment. Nevertheless, direct evidence for the transmission of this particular ribotype from animals to humans has never been established. This review will summarize the current available data on epidemiology, clinical presentations, risk factors and laboratory diagnosis of C. difficile infection in food animals and household pets, outline potential prevention and control strategies, and also describe the current evidence towards a zoonotic potential of C. difficile infection.

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Detection and Enumeration of Clostridium difficile Spores in Retail Beef and Pork

Applied and Environmental Microbiology ◽

10.1128/aem.00480-09 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 75 (15) ◽

pp. 5009-5011 ◽

Cited By ~ 113

Author(s):

J. Scott Weese ◽

Brent P. Avery ◽

J. Rousseau ◽

Richard J. Reid-Smith

Keyword(s):

Clostridium Difficile ◽

Enrichment Culture ◽

Ground Beef ◽

Retail Outlets ◽

Ground Pork ◽

Retail Meat ◽

Food Animals ◽

Canadian Provinces ◽

Ribotype 078 ◽

Pork Samples

ABSTRACT Recent studies have identified C lostridium difficile in food animals and retail meat, and concern has been raised about the potential for food to act as a source of C. difficile infection in humans. Previous studies of retail meat have relied on enrichment culture alone, thereby preventing any assessment of the level of contamination in meat. This study evaluated the prevalence of C. difficile contamination of retail ground beef and ground pork in Canada. Ground beef and ground pork were purchased from retail outlets in four Canadian provinces. Quantitative and enrichment culture was performed. Clostridium difficile was isolated from 28/230 (12%) samples overall: 14/115 (12%) ground beef samples and 14/115 (12%) ground pork samples (P = 1.0). For ground beef, 10/14 samples (71%) were positive by enrichment culture only. Of the 4 ground beef samples that were positive by direct culture, 20 spores/g were present in 2 while 120 and 240 spores/g were present in 1 each. For ground pork, 10/14 (71%) samples were positive by enrichment culture only. Of the 4 ground pork samples that were positive by direct culture, 20 spores/g were present in 3 while 60 spores/g were present in 1. Ribotype 078 predominated, consistent with some previous studies of C. difficile in food animals. Ribotype 027/North American pulsotype 1 was also identified in both retail beef and pork. This study has identified relatively common contamination of retail ground beef and pork with C. difficile spores; however, the levels of contamination were very low.

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Low Prevalence of Clostridium difficile in Slaughter Pigs in Korea

Journal of Food Protection ◽

10.4315/0362-028x.jfp-14-493 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 78 (5) ◽

pp. 1034-1036 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

ARA CHO ◽

JAE-WON BYUN ◽

JONG WAN KIM ◽

SANG-IK OH ◽

MYOUNG-HEON LEE ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Clostridium Difficile ◽

Meat Products ◽

Multidrug Resistant ◽

Enteric Disease ◽

Retail Meats ◽

Slaughter Pigs ◽

Food Animals ◽

Ribotype 078 ◽

Low Prevalence ◽

Slaughtered Pigs

Clostridium difficile is an important cause of enteric disease in humans and animals. The prevalence of C. difficile infection is increasing, and the bacterium is frequently found in meat products, suggesting the possibility of animal-to-human transmission. Therefore, food animals must be assessed for their role as reservoirs of C. difficile. In this study, C. difficile was isolated from 2 (0.3%) of 659 slaughtered pigs in Korea. Both isolates were characterized as ribotype 078 and were multidrug resistant. The low occurrence suggests only a limited risk of C. difficile transmission from porcine food products; however, C. difficile ribotype 078 is an important pathogen in both pigs and humans, and further studies are necessary to investigate the occurrence of C. difficile in retail meats and other food animals.

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Enhanced surveillance of Clostridium difficile infection occurring outside hospital, England, 2011 to 2013

Eurosurveillance ◽

10.2807/1560-7917.es.2016.21.29.30295 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 21 (29) ◽

Cited By ~ 33

Author(s):

Warren N Fawley ◽

Kerrie A Davies ◽

Trefor Morris ◽

Peter Parnell ◽

Robin Howe ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Clostridium Difficile ◽

Epidemiological Data ◽

Diversity Indices ◽

Community Based ◽

Patient Demographics ◽

Faecal Samples ◽

Ribotype 078 ◽

Discharge From Hospital ◽

Healthcare Associated ◽

Care Nursing

There are limited national epidemiological data for community-associated (CA)-Clostridium difficile infections (CDIs). Between March 2011 and March 2013, laboratories in England submitted to the Clostridium difficile Ribotyping Network (CDRN) up to 10 diarrhoeal faecal samples from successive patients with CA-CDI, defined here as C. difficile toxin-positive diarrhoea commencing outside hospital (or less than 48 hours after hospital admission), including those cases associated with community-based residential care, with no discharge from hospital within the previous 12 weeks. Patient demographics and C. difficile PCR ribotypes were compared for CA-CDIs in our study and presumed healthcare-associated (HA) CDIs via CDRN. Ribotype diversity indices, ranking and relative prevalences were very similar in CA- vs HA-CDIs, although ribotypes 002 (p ≤ 0.0001),020 (p = 0.009) and 056 (p < 0.0001) predominated in CA-CDIs; ribotype 027 (p = 0.01) predominated in HA-CDIs. Epidemic ribotypes 027 and 078 predominated in institutional residents with CDI (including care/nursing homes) compared with people with CDI living at home. Ribotype diversity decreased with increasing age in HA-CDIs, but not in CA-CDIs. Ribotype 078 CA-CDIs were significantly more common in elderly people (3.4% (6/174) vs 8.7% (45/519) in those aged < 65 and ≥ 65 years, respectively; p = 0.019). No antibiotics were prescribed in the previous four weeks in about twofold more CA-CDI vs HAs (38.6% (129/334) vs 20.3% (1,226/6,028); p < 0.0001). We found very similar ribotype distributions in CA- and HA-CDIs, although a few ribotypes significantly predominated in one setting. These national data emphasise the close interplay between, and likely common reservoirs for, CDIs, particularly when epidemic strains are not dominant.

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Cross-Sectional Study Reveals High Prevalence of Clostridium difficile Non-PCR Ribotype 078 Strains in Australian Veal Calves at Slaughter

Applied and Environmental Microbiology ◽

10.1128/aem.03951-12 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 79 (8) ◽

pp. 2630-2635 ◽

Cited By ~ 57

Author(s):

Daniel R. Knight ◽

Sara Thean ◽

Papanin Putsathit ◽

Stan Fenwick ◽

Thomas V. Riley

Keyword(s):

Clostridium Difficile ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Adult Cattle ◽

Content Type ◽

Retail Meats ◽

High Prevalence ◽

Pcr Ribotyping ◽

Ribotype 078

ABSTRACTRecent reports in North America and Europe ofClostridium difficilebeing isolated from livestock and retail meats of bovine origin have raised concerns about the risk to public health. To assess the situation in Australia, we investigated the prevalence and genetic diversity ofC. difficilein adult cattle and calves at slaughter. Carcass washings, gastrointestinal contents, and feces were collected from abattoirs across five Australian states. Selective culture, toxin profiling, and PCR ribotyping were performed. The prevalence ofC. difficilewas 56% (203/360 samples) in feces from <7-day-old calves, 3.8% (1/26) in 2- to 6-month-old calves, and 1.8% (5/280) in adult cattle. Three PCR ribotypes (RTs), RT127, RT033, and RT126, predominated in <7-day-old calves and comprised 77.8% (158/203 samples) of isolates. RT056, which has not been reported in cattle before, was found in 16 <7-day-old calves (7.7%). Surprisingly, RT078 strains, which dominate production animal carriage studies in the Northern Hemisphere, were not isolated.

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The Use of Natural Sorbents to Reduce Ammonia Emissions from Cattle Faeces

Agronomy ◽

10.3390/agronomy11122543 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (12) ◽

pp. 2543

Author(s):

Agnieszka Szymula ◽

Łukasz Wlazło ◽

Naďa Sasáková ◽

Wioletta Wnuk ◽

Bożena Nowakowicz-Dębek

Keyword(s):

Dairy Cows ◽

Animal Production ◽

Control Group ◽

Ammonia Emissions ◽

Natural Sorbents ◽

Holstein Friesian ◽

Faecal Samples ◽

Effective Reduction ◽

Cattle Faeces ◽

Cattle Farms

Intensification of animal production leads to an increase in ammonia emissions into the environment. For this reason, various methods and strategies are sought to reduce ammonia emissions from faeces. The aim of the study was to test the possibility of using natural sorbents and sorbent mixtures to reduce ammonia emissions from cattle faeces. Faecal samples for analysis were collected from Holstein-Friesian dairy cows during the winter. The amount of ammonia emissions from cow faeces was determined every seven days, after mixing the faeces with a mixture of selected sorbents. All of the sorbents used have the potential to remove ammonia. The most effective reduction in ammonia was achieved using biochar and a mixture of bentonite with zeolite. The reduction in these groups was 42.56% and 24.56%, respectively, relative to the control group. The results indicate that these sorbents can be used to reduce ammonia emissions from cattle farms.

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Clostridium difficile in beef cattle farms, farmers and their environment: Assessing the spread of the bacterium

Veterinary Microbiology ◽

10.1016/j.vetmic.2017.09.010 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 210 ◽

pp. 183-187 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Cristina Rodriguez ◽

Djalal-Eddine Hakimi ◽

Raphael Vanleyssem ◽

Bernard Taminiau ◽

Johan Van Broeck ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Clostridium Difficile ◽

Beef Cattle ◽

Cattle Farms

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A Role for Tetracycline Selection in Recent Evolution of Agriculture-Associated Clostridium difficile PCR Ribotype 078

mBio ◽

10.1128/mbio.02790-18 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 10 (2) ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Kate E. Dingle ◽

Xavier Didelot ◽

T. Phuong Quan ◽

David W. Eyre ◽

Nicole Stoesser ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Clostridium Difficile ◽

Evolutionary History ◽

Selective Pressure ◽

Tetracycline Resistance ◽

Clonal Expansion ◽

Human Pathogen ◽

Content Type ◽

Resistance Determinants ◽

Ribotype 078 ◽

Human Infections

ABSTRACT The increasing clinical importance of human infections (frequently severe) caused by Clostridium difficile PCR ribotype 078 (RT078) was first reported in 2008. The severity of symptoms (mortality of ≤30%) and the higher proportion of infections among community and younger patients raised concerns. Farm animals, especially pigs, have been identified as RT078 reservoirs. We aimed to understand the recent changes in RT078 epidemiology by investigating a possible role for antimicrobial selection in its recent evolutionary history. Phylogenetic analysis of international RT078 genomes (isolates from 2006 to 2014, n = 400), using time-scaled, recombination-corrected, maximum likelihood phylogenies, revealed several recent clonal expansions. A common ancestor of each expansion had independently acquired a different allele of the tetracycline resistance gene tetM. Consequently, an unusually high proportion (76.5%) of RT078 genomes were tetM positive. Multiple additional tetracycline resistance determinants were also identified (including efflux pump tet40), frequently sharing a high level of nucleotide sequence identity (up to 100%) with sequences found in the pig pathogen Streptococcus suis and in other zoonotic pathogens such as Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli. Each RT078 tetM clonal expansion lacked geographic structure, indicating rapid, recent international spread. Resistance determinants for C. difficile infection-triggering antimicrobials, including fluoroquinolones and clindamycin, were comparatively rare in RT078. Tetracyclines are used intensively in agriculture; this selective pressure, plus rapid, international spread via the food chain, may explain the increased RT078 prevalence in humans. Our work indicates that the use of antimicrobials outside the health care environment has selected for resistant organisms, and in the case of RT078, has contributed to the emergence of a human pathogen. IMPORTANCE Clostridium difficile PCR ribotype 078 (RT078) has multiple reservoirs; many are agricultural. Since 2005, this genotype has been increasingly associated with human infections in both clinical settings and the community. Investigations of RT078 whole-genome sequences revealed that tetracycline resistance had been acquired on multiple independent occasions. Phylogenetic analysis revealed a rapid, recent increase in numbers of closely related tetracycline-resistant RT078 (clonal expansions), suggesting that tetracycline selection has strongly influenced its recent evolutionary history. We demonstrate recent international spread of emergent, tetracycline-resistant RT078. A similar tetracycline-positive clonal expansion was also identified in unrelated nontoxigenic C. difficile, suggesting that this process may be widespread and may be independent of disease-causing ability. Resistance to typical C. difficile infection-associated antimicrobials (e.g., fluoroquinolones, clindamycin) occurred only sporadically within RT078. Selective pressure from tetracycline appears to be a key factor in the emergence of this human pathogen and the rapid international dissemination that followed, plausibly via the food chain.

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