Prevalence and distribution of Clostridium difficile PCR ribotypes in cats and dogs from animal shelters in Thuringia, Germany

Epidemiology of Clostridium difficile Infection and Risk Factors for Unfavorable Clinical Outcomes: Results of a Hospital-Based Study in Barcelona, Spain

“…Moreover, PCR ribotype 078 is the most common C. difficile ribotype found in pigs and cattle and is now the third most common C. difficile ribotype found in human infections in Europe. Human and porcine strains of C. difficile are genetically identical in Europe, confirming that C. difficile infection is zoonotic and supporting the notion that animals are a reservoir for human infection (5,6,7).…”

Nosocomial Infections and their Surveillance in Veterinary Hospitals

“…In a Prospective study conducted in horses pre-treated with penicillin followed by experimental infection resulted in increased isolation of C. difficile from faecal samples, revealing the role of antimicrobials as a risk factor (Gustafsson et al, 2004). Prevalence and distribution of C. difficile was studied in dogs and cats visiting Veterinary Hospitals and animal shelters (Clooten et al, 2008;Schneeberg et al, 2012). A study conducted in an animal shelter in Germany, reported C. difficile prevalence rate of 5.5% and 3.5% in dogs and cats respectively further the study acknowledged that dogs and cats kept in animal shelters act as a reservoir for C. difficile PCR ribotypes that can infect human (Schneeberg et al, 2012).…”

“…Prevalence and distribution of C. difficile was studied in dogs and cats visiting Veterinary Hospitals and animal shelters (Clooten et al, 2008;Schneeberg et al, 2012). A study conducted in an animal shelter in Germany, reported C. difficile prevalence rate of 5.5% and 3.5% in dogs and cats respectively further the study acknowledged that dogs and cats kept in animal shelters act as a reservoir for C. difficile PCR ribotypes that can infect human (Schneeberg et al, 2012). An another prospective study conducted in a veterinary teaching hospital reported that C. difficile could be isolated from 18% from dogs and cats and the study concluded that antibiotic administration prior to admission and administration of immunosuppressive drugs during hospitalization were risk factors for the nosocomial colonization (Clooten et al, 2008).…”

Clostridium difficile in Food and Animals: A Comprehensive Review

“…Different other studies have associated the presence of C. difficile in faeces with diarrhoea in dogs and cats (Weese et al 2001a;2001b;Weese and Armstrong 2003;Koene et al 2012;Wetterwik et al 2013). However, dogs can also be healthy carriers of C. difficile strains belonging to human epidemic PCR-ribotypes (Schneeberg et al 2012;Silva et al 2013b;Spigaglia et al 2015), with a high colonisation in the first period of live (Perrin et al 1993;Á lvarez-Pérez et al 2015).…”