High prevalence of toxigenic Clostridium difficile in public space lawns in Western Australia

Moono, Peter; Lim, Su Chen; Riley, Thomas V.

doi:10.1038/srep41196

Cited by 47 publications

(53 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…All the samples tested corresponded to the top layer of the soil (the uppermost 2 cm). These findings confirm the results of previous studies reporting that C. difficile is very prevalent in different soils (Rodriguez et al, ; Janezic et al, ; Moono et al, ). Furthermore, some of the PCR‐ ribotypes found are the same as those isolated from humans and animals.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…Studies addressing the presence of C. difficile in the natural environment are less numerous than those investigating the bacterium in foods and animals (Rodriguez et al, ). There are recent studies describing its presence in wastewater treatment plants or rivers (Moradigaravand et al, ; Zidaric et al, ), with some of them performed in soil farms (Bäverud et al, ) and in other rural areas (Janezic et al, ; Simango, ) or public environments (Al‐Saif & Brazier, ; Moono et al, ; Orden et al, ). Wastewater treatment plants are highly contaminated, with up to 96% of samples being positive (Romano et al, ; Xu, Weese, Flemming, Odumeru, & Warriner, ; Nikaeen, Aghili‐Dehnavi, Hssanzadeh, & Jalali, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this context, some studies have previously investigated the presence of C. difficile in the environment, including soils and water samples (Janezic, Potocnik, Zidaric, & Rupnik, ). The bacterium has been recovered from soil samples taken from sand playgrounds and public gardens (Al‐Saif & Brazier, ; Moono, Lim, & Riley, ; Orden et al, ), from environmental soil samples and puddle water (Janezic et al, ), from rivers (Zidaric, Beigot, Lapajne, & Rupnik, ) and from rural environments in close contact with farm animals (Bäverud, Gustafsson, Franklin, Aspan, & Gunnarsson, ; Simango & Mwakurudza, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Seasonality ofClostridium difficilein the natural environment

Rodríguez

Bouchafa

Soumillion

et al. 2019

Transbound Emerg Dis

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Clostridium difficile is considered the leading cause of antibiotic‐associated disease worldwide. In the past decade, a large number of studies have focused on identifying the main sources of contamination in order to elucidate the complete life cycle of the infection. Hospitals, animals and retail foods have been considered as potential vectors. However, the prevalence of C. difficile in these types of samples was found to be rather low, suggesting that other contamination routes must exist. This study explores the presence of C. difficile in the natural environment and the seasonal dynamics of the bacterium. C. difficile was isolated from a total of 45 samples out of 112 collected (40.2%) on 56 sampling points. A total of 17 points were positive only during the winter sampling (30.4%), 10 were positive only during the summer sampling (17.9%) and 9 sampling points (16.1%) were positive in both summer sampling and winter sampling. Spore counts in soil samples ranged between 50 and 250 cfu/g for 24.4% of the positive samples, with the highest concentrations detected in samples collected in the forest during winter campaign (200–250 cfu/g). A total of 17 different PCR ribotypes were identified, and 15 of them had the genes coding for toxins A and B. Most of those ribotypes had not previously been found or had been isolated only sporadically (<1% of samples) from hospitals in Belgium. Regarding antimicrobial susceptibility, most of the resistant strains were found during the summer campaign. These findings bear out that C. difficile is present in the natural environment, where the bacterium undergoes seasonal variations.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Seasonality ofClostridium difficilein the natural environment

Rodríguez

Bouchafa

Soumillion

et al. 2019

Transbound Emerg Dis

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“…Clostridium difficile spores are ubiquitous in soil (Janezic, Potocnik, Zidaric, & Rupnik, ; Moono, Lim, & Riley, ); therefore, one of the potential routes of transmission from the outdoor environment to the household would be by shoes and dog paws. Indeed, shoes were one of the sites with the highest positivity rate within sampled households (Alam et al., ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dissemination of Clostridium difficile spores between environment and households: Dog paws and shoes

Janežič

Mlakar

Rupnik

2018

Zoonoses and Public Health

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Clostridium difficile is an anaerobic, spore-forming bacterium that causes intestinal infections. Although C. difficile is still predominantly considered as a nosocomial pathogen, there has been an increase in the number of community-associated infections. Since C. difficile is ubiquitous and can be isolated from nearly any environment, one of the possibilities for community acquisition could be exposure to spores in the domestic environment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the presence of C. difficile spores on shoes, slippers and on dog paws and to explore the importance of these surfaces as vectors for the dissemination of C. difficile in a domestic environment. Overall, C. difficile was present in 14 (70%) of 20 households and in 31 of 90 (34%) collected samples. Shoes and slippers had the highest positivity rates, 19 of 44 (43%) and 6 of 21 (28%), respectively, followed by dog paws 6 of 25 (24%). Thirteen C. difficilePCR ribotypes were identified with half of the isolates belonging to ribotype 014/020, which is the predominant type circulating in human population and is also commonly found in the environment (e.g. soil and water) in Slovenia. In three households, identical PCR ribotypes were found on dog paws, shoes and slippers. To understand the fine-scale genetic relatedness of these isolates, we sequenced the genomes. Low level of single nucleotide variant (SNV) differences between isolates from the same households, consistent with a recent transmission from a common source, were seen for isolates of PCR ribotype 014/020 but not for PCR ribotype 010. Our results suggest that shoe soles and dog paws could serve for the dissemination of C. difficile spores between households and environment and could contribute to community-relevant sources for C. difficile infection in humans.

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“…Importantly, environments that contact animal waste products frequently harbor C. difficile. Roll-out lawns that are frequently produced using manure have been found to contain C. difficile spores with high frequency, 83 and numerous studies have identified C. difficile spores in water and soil samples in Europe. 4 Compost can be manufactured from pig feces and piggery effluent pond water, and treated effluent pond water can be applied to land used for agriculture or pasture.…”

Section: Difficile Can Be Transmitted Between Animals and Humans Bmentioning

confidence: 99%

Clostridioides difficile Spores: Bile Acid Sensors and Trojan Horses of Transmission

Shen

2020

Clinics in Colon and Rectal Surgery

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The Gram-positive, spore-forming bacterium, Clostridioides difficile is the leading cause of healthcare-associated infections in the United States, although it also causes a significant number of community-acquired infections. C. difficile infections, which range in severity from mild diarrhea to toxic megacolon, cost more to treat than matched infections, with an annual treatment cost of approximately $6 billion for almost half-a-million infections. These high–treatment costs are due to the high rates of C. difficile disease recurrence (>20%) and necessity for special disinfection measures. These complications arise in part because C. difficile makes metabolically dormant spores, which are the major infectious particle of this obligate anaerobe. These seemingly inanimate life forms are inert to antibiotics, resistant to commonly used disinfectants, readily disseminated, and capable of surviving in the environment for a long period of time. However, upon sensing specific bile salts in the vertebrate gut, C. difficile spores transform back into the vegetative cells that are responsible for causing disease. This review discusses how spores are ideal vectors for disease transmission and how antibiotics modulate this process. We also describe the resistance properties of spores and how they create challenges eradicating spores, as well as promote their spread. Lastly, environmental reservoirs of C. difficile spores and strategies for destroying them particularly in health care environments will be discussed.

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High prevalence of toxigenic Clostridium difficile in public space lawns in Western Australia

Cited by 47 publications

References 45 publications

Seasonality ofClostridium difficilein the natural environment

Seasonality ofClostridium difficilein the natural environment

Dissemination of Clostridium difficile spores between environment and households: Dog paws and shoes

Clostridioides difficile Spores: Bile Acid Sensors and Trojan Horses of Transmission

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