Clostridium difficile is an emerging enteropathogen responsible for pseudomembranous colitis in humans and diarrhoea in several domestic and wild animal species. Despite its known importance, there are few studies aboutC. difficile polymerase chain reaction (PCR) ribotypes in Brazil and the actual knowledge is restricted to studies on human isolates. The aim of the study was therefore to compare C. difficileribotypes isolated from humans and animals in Brazil. Seventy-six C. difficile strains isolated from humans (n = 25), dogs (n = 23), piglets (n = 12), foals (n = 7), calves (n = 7), one cat, and one manned wolf were distributed into 24 different PCR ribotypes. Among toxigenic strains, PCR ribotypes 014/020 and 106 were the most common, accounting for 14 (18.4%) and eight (10.5%) samples, respectively. Fourteen different PCR ribotypes were detected among human isolates, nine of them have also been identified in at least one animal species. PCR ribotype 027 was not detected, whereas 078 were found only in foals. This data suggests a high diversity of PCR ribotypes in humans and animals in Brazil and support the discussion of C. difficile as a zoonotic pathogen.

The present study aimed to explore the motivations of Brazilian dog owners and their knowledge about the risks related to raw meat-based diets (RMBD) as well as to evaluate important enteropathogens such as Salmonella spp., C. perfringens, and C. difficile, in feces of dogs fed different diets. The majority of the pet owners (69.3%) reported to have chosen this diet for their dogs, considering it to be more "natural". A large number of owners declared that RMBD do not pose health risks for their animals (87.9%) or humans (98.8%), even though almost one third of the respondents (34.8%) declared having at least one individual at high risk of infection in contact with RMBD-fed dogs. Stool samples from 46 RMBD-fed dogs and 192 dogs fed commercial dry feed were collected. The present study revealed that dogs fed raw meat diets were almost 30 times more likely to be positive for Salmonella spp. than dogs on a conventional diet. Some of the serovars detected were commonly associated with human salmonellosis, such as S. Typhimurium and S. Saintpaul, and were multidrug resistant. RMBD-fed dogs were more likely to be positive for C. perfringens type A (p = 0.008) and one C. perfringens type F was isolated from these animals. Two toxigenic strains (4.3%) of C. difficile were isolated only from raw meat-fed dogs, all of which were under antibiotic therapy. These toxigenic C. difficile isolates were classified as RT106/ST54 and RT600/ST149, previously associated with infection in dogs and humans. The present work revealed that the owners have a tendency to ignore or are unaware of the risks associated with raw meat diets for dogs. Also, the higher fecal shedding of important enteropathogens in dogs fed RMBD suggests that this diet poses a risk for the animals and the people in contact with them. OPEN ACCESS Citation: Viegas FM, Ramos CP, Xavier RGC, Lopes EO, Júnior CAO, Bagno RM, et al. (2020) Fecal shedding of Salmonella spp., Clostridium perfringens, and Clostridioides difficile in dogs fed raw meat-based diets in Brazil and their owners' motivation. PLoS ONE 15(4): e0231275. https://

The aim of this study was to examine the incidence of Clostridioides (previously Clostridium) difficile and Clostridium perfringens in the feces of diarrheic and non-diarrheic dogs. Also, the presence of other common canine enteropathogens was examined. Toxigenic C. difficile and C. perfringens positive for the NetF-encoding gene (netF) were detected in 11 (11.9%) and seven (7.6%) diarrheic dogs, respectively. Three dogs were diagnosed simultaneously with toxigenic C. difficile and netF-positive C. perfringens. Among other enteropathogens, Giardia sp. was the most common agent detected in dogs positive for toxigenic C. difficile or netF-positive C. perfringens. The results suggest that C. difficile and C. perfringens occur more frequently as a primary cause of diarrhea.

This is a repository copy of Molecular epidemiology of Clostridioides (previously Clostridium) difficile isolates from a university hospital in Minas Gerais, Brazil.

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Detecção de genes de virulência e grupos filogenéticos de amostrasEscherichia coli isoladas de cães no Brasil INTRODUCTIONEscherichia coli are a component of normal intestinal microbiota in humans and other animals. Phenotypic and genotypic characteristics allow the identification of E. coli pathogenic strains or pathovars (COURA et al., 2014). Dogs are colonized by E. coli during the first days of their life and some strains can cause enteric or extra-intestinal infections (BEUTIN, 1999 (BEUTIN, 1999). Other pathovars are associated with diarrhea in other animals, namely enteroaggregative E. coli (EAEC) and enteroinvasive E. coli (EIEC) (MAINIL, 2013). Because of the close contact with humans, dogs could increase the risk of transmitting potentially zoonotic microorganisms, such as EPEC and STEC (BEUTIN, 1999).In addition to the pathotype and pathovar classification, E. coli strains can be assigned to one of the seven phylogenetic groups, including A, B1, B2, C, D, E, and F (CLERMONT et al., 2013). E. coli genomic structure has shown that the strains belonging to different phylogroups are associated with the disease state and source of isolation (CLERMONT et al., 2013). The extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli (ExPEC) strains are clustered mostly in groups B2 and D and intestinal pathogenic E. coli are mostly in phylogroups A, B1, and E (ESCOBAR- PÁRAMO et al., 2004; CLERMONT et al., 2011). Although phylogenetic characterization is an important tool to improve the understanding of E. coli populations and the relationship between strains and disease (CLERMONT et al., 2011;COURA et al., 2015), few studies have determined phylogenetic groups of E. coli isolated from dogs worldwide, and of those that did, the most frequently used method was a triplex PCR method developed by CLERMONT in 2000. This method is only capable of determining phylogroups A, B1, B2, and D (HARADA et al., 2012;SALVARANI et al., 2012;SCHMIDT et al., 2015) instead of the seven phylogroups that were detected in this study. In Brazil, only two studies identified E. coli pathovars associated with diarrhea in dogs (ALMEIDA et al., 2012;PUÑO-SARMIENTO et al., 2013), but none determined the phylogenetic groups of E. coli. Therefore, this study aimed to detect the virulence genes, pathovars, and phylogenetic groups of E. coli strains isolated from the feces of dogs with and without diarrhea. MATERIALS AND METHODS Stool samplesStool samples were collected from 154 dogs, of which 92 were diarrheic and 62 were without diarrhea. Samples from diarrheic dogs were obtained directly from the rectum, at the Veterinary Hospital of Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (Belo Horizonte city), upon admission. Collections were performed from dogs that were undergoing a consultation for the occurrence of diarrhea. With owner's consent, fecal samples from non-diarrheic animals were obtained from the dogs of students attending the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais. For non-diarrheic dogs, fecal samples were either taken directly from the rectum or after spontaneous ...

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The present study aimed to evaluate five nontoxigenic strains of Clostridium difficile (NTCD) in vitro and to select one strain to prevent C. difficile (CDI) infection in hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus