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

Abstract

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.

Antimicrobial Resistance, Toxinotype, and Genotypic Profiling of Clostridium difficile Isolates of Swine Origin

“…Toxinotypes V and O have also been reported in humans (8,26). The common occurrence of toxinotype V in the present study underscores a potential concern, as this type has been associated with community-associated disease and increasing prevalence in CDI in humans (6,21,26,27). Further investigation is necessary, as some recent reports have found toxinotype V in asymptomatic people (21), and others found that there was no association between virulence attributes and clinical outcomes (28).…”

Clostridium difficile infection: main features and occurrence in domestic species in Brazil

“…Moreover, a recent study reported that occupational exposure to pigs significantly increases the likelihood of humans being colonized by C. difficile. Furthermore, the same study demonstrated that the strains isolated from animals and their handlers had the same ribotype, suggesting transmission between species (NORMAN et al, 2011). Another fact that has attracted attention is the large increase in the isolation of one specific ribotype, known as 078, from humans living in the United States and England.…”

Antimicrobial susceptibility of Clostridium difficile isolated from animals and humans in Brazil

“…Recent studies have shown that isolates from human cases of pseudomembranous colitis caused by C. diffi cile are genetically similar to strains isolated from domestic animals, which suggest that this disease could be zoonotic (JHUNG et al, 2008;NORMAN et al, 2011 Ciência Rural, v.44, n.5, mai, 2014. of C. diffi cile strains in Brazil. Most current reports are not robust and are limited to human isolates.…”