PCR-ribotype distribution of Clostridium difficile in Irish pigs (original) (raw)

Diversity of Clostridium difficile in pigs and other animals in Slovenia

Anaerobe, 2009

A study of Clostridium difficile diversity in pigs, calves and horses in Slovenia was conducted. A total of 547 samples were collected and C. difficile was isolated from 247/485 (50.9%) piglet samples, from 4/42 (9.5%) calf samples, and 1/20 (5%) horse samples. The isolates were characterized by toxinotyping, PCRribotyping, and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) using restriction endonuclease SmaI. Piglet isolates belonged to two toxinotypes (V and 0), four PCR-ribotypes (066, 029, SI 011, SI 010), and six pulsotypes. Bovine isolates were grouped into two toxinotypes (XIa and 0), three PCR-ribotypes (077, 002, 033), and three pulsotypes. The only equine isolate was indistinguishable from one calf isolate (XIa/ 033) in toxinotype, PCR-ribotype, and pulsotype. None of detected genotypes was present in all three animal hosts.

Presence of Clostridium difficile in pigs and cattle intestinal contents and carcass contamination at the slaughterhouse in Belgium

International Journal of Food Microbiology, 2013

The objective of this study was to evaluate the presence of Clostridium difficile in intestinal and carcass samples collected from pigs and cattle at a single slaughterhouse. C. difficile was isolated in 1% and 9.9% of the pig and cattle intestinal contents and in 7.9% and 7% of cattle and pig carcass samples respectively. A total of 19 different PCR-ribotypes were identified, among them types 078 and 014. Seven of 19 ribotypes correlated with the PCRribotypes involved in human C. difficile infections in Belgium. This study confirms that animals are carriers of C. difficile at slaughter and ribotypes are identical than those in humans, and that carcass contamination occurs inside the slaughterhouse.

Prevalence and Genotypic Characteristics of Clostridium difficile in a Closed and Integrated Human and Swine Population

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 2011

Recently, an apparent rise in the number of cases attributed to community-acquired Clostridium difficile infection has led researchers to explore additional sources of infection. The finding of C. difficile in food animals and retail meat has raised concern about potential food-borne and occupational exposures. The objective of this study was to compare C. difficile isolated from a closed population of healthy individuals consisting of both humans and swine in order to investigate possible food safety and occupational risks for exposure. Using a multistep enrichment isolation technique, we identified 11.8% of the human wastewater samples and 8.6% of the swine samples that were positive for C. difficile. The prevalences of C. difficile in swine production groups differed significantly (P < 0.05); however, the prevalences in the two human occupational group cohorts did not differ significantly (P ‫؍‬ 0.81). The majority of the human and swine isolates were similar based on multiple typing methods. The similarity in C. difficile prevalence in the human group cohorts suggests a low occupational hazard, while a greatly decreased prevalence of C. difficile in later-stage swine production groups suggests a diminished risk for food-borne exposure. The similarity of strains in the two host species suggests the possibility of a common environmental source for healthy individuals in a community setting.

Detection of enterotoxin A and cytotoxin B, and isolation of Clostridium difficile in piglets in Minas Gerais, Brazil

Ciência Rural, 2011

Clostridium difficile has emerged as a major cause of neonatal colitis in piglets, displacing classic bacterial pathogens. However, there is no information regarding the distribution of this microorganism in pig farms in Brazil. In the present study, the presence of toxins A/B and of C. difficile strains in stool samples from 60 diarrheic or non-diarrheic newborn piglets (one to seven days old), from 15 different farms, was studied. The presence of toxins A/B was detected by ELISA and PCR was used to identify toxin A, toxin B and binary toxin gene in each isolated strain. C. difficile A/B toxins were detected in ten samples (16.7%). Of these, seven were from diarrheic and three were from non-diarrheic piglets. C. difficile was recovered from 12 out of 60 (20%) fecal samples. Of those, three strains were non-toxigenic (A-B-) and nine were toxigenic. Of the nine toxigenic strains, four were A+B+ strains and five were A-B+ strains. The presence of binary toxin observed in the present s...

Persistence of Clostridium difficile RT 237 infection in a Western Australian piggery

Clostridium difficile is commonly associated with healthcare-related infections in humans, and is an emerging pathogen in food animal species. There is potential for transmission of C. difficile from animals or animal products to humans. This study aimed to determine if C. difficile RT 237 had persisted in a Western Australian piggery or if there had been a temporal change in C. difficile diversity. C. difficile carriage in litters with and without diarrhea was investigated, as was the acquisition of C. difficile over time using cohort surveys. Rectal swabs were obtained from piglets aged 1e10 days to determine prevalence of C. difficile carriage and samples were obtained from 20 piglets on days 1, 7, 13, 20, and 42 of life to determine duration of shedding. Isolation of C. difficile from feces was achieved by selective enrichment culture. All isolates were characterized by standard molecular typing. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed on selected isolates (n ¼ 29). Diarrheic piglets were more likely to shed C. difficile than the non-diseased (p ¼ 0.0124, c2). In the cohort study, C. difficile was isolated from 40% samples on day 1, 50% on day 7, 20% on day 13, and 0% on days 20 and 42. All isolates were RT 237 and no antimicrobial resistance was detected. The decline of shedding of C. difficile to zero has public health implications because slaughter age pigs have a low likelihood of spreading C. difficile to consumers via pig meat.

Clostridium difficile in Swine: Zoonotic Transfer and the Potential Consequences

2019

Clostridium difficile is an anaerobic, gram-positive, spore-forming bacterium that can infect both animals and humans. C. difficile infection (CDI) is a toxin-mediated disease that can result in the production of three main virulence factors: toxin A, toxin B and binary toxin. Newborn piglets are highly susceptible to CDI, however age decreases the chances of colonization. Prevention and treatment strategies are limited, and there is currently no commercially available treatment option for CDI. However, treatment methods and prevention strategies using a nontoxigenic C. difficile strain and equine-origin antitoxins have been explored and show preliminary promising results. With evidence of possible zoonotic transfer increasing, agriculture and medical professionals should take action to prevent the spread of C. difficile. Consequences including economic loss and decline in consumer confidence could result if a highly virulent resistant strain of C. difficile emerged and caused an increase in morbidity and mortality rates among pigs and humans. Clostridium difficile in Neonatal Piglets Clostridium difficile is an anaerobic, gram-positive, spore-forming bacterium present in both animals and humans (Squire and Riley 2013). Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) occurs in organisms with a compromised immune system and those with disrupted gut floras. C. difficile is one of the leading causes of enteritis in newborn piglets and it produces three main virulent toxins: toxin A, toxin B, and binary toxin (Abt, McKenney and Pamer 2016). Colonization can occur within 48 hours of birth in virtually 100% of neonates (Hopman et al. 2011). Within swine herds, C. difficile is shown to have the ability to impact, on average, two-thirds of litters, causing

Comparison of the Prevalence and Genotypic Characteristics of Clostridium difficile in a Closed and Integrated Human and Swine Population in Texas

2011

Clostridium difficile has been recognized as one of the leading causes of nosocomial diarrhea and pseudomembranous colitis in human hospitals and nursing homes since the 1970s; however, recent occurrences of community-acquired cases have led researchers to search for additional sources of these infections. Some of the possible sources being investigated include food animals and retail meat. The objective of this study was to compare the prevalence and genotypic characteristics of C. difficile isolated from a closed population in Texas consisting of both humans and swine. Implicit in this objective, we seek to investigate the possible food safety and occupational risks associated with swine and C. difficile. Isolation of C. difficile was performed utilizing an enrichment technique and restrictive media. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to test for the presence of the toxin A and B genes, the tcdC gene deletion, and the binary toxin gene. Genotypic characteristics were compared using PCR toxinotyping and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Antimicrobial susceptibility was tested using commercially available tests (ETest®) for 11 different antibiotics. Statistical comparisons (both vii NOMENCLATURE bp base pair CA-CDAD Community-acquired Clostridium difficile-associated disease CA-CDI Community-acquired Clostridium difficile infection CCFA Cycloserine cefoxitin fructose agar CCFB Cycloserine cefoxitin fructose broth CDAD Clostridium difficile-associated disease CDMN Clostridium difficile moxalactam norloxacin CDMNA Clostridium difficile moxalactam norfloxacin agar MIC Minimum inhibitory concentration MLVA Multilocus variable-number tandem-repeat analysis NAP North American pulsed-field type PCR Polymerase chain reaction PFGE Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis PYG Peptone yeast glucose RO Reverse osmosis TCDMNB Sodium taurocholate Clostridium difficile moxalactam norfloxacin broth TCCFB Sodium taurocholate cycloserine cefoxitin fructose broth VL Viande-Levure broth viii