Prevalence, Antibiotic Resistance, Toxin-Typing and Genotyping of Clostridium perfringens in Raw Beef Meats Obtained from Qazvin City, Iran

Abstract

Background: Clostridium perfringens is one of the highest prevailing spore-forming foodborne pathogens, which is widely distributed and causes severe disease and outbreaks in humans and animals. Raw meat and poultry are the main vehicles of this pathogen. In this study, we investigated the prevalence, antibiotic resistance pattern, toxin-encoding genes and genetic diversity of C. perfringens isolates from raw whole and minced meat samples purchased from local markets in Qazvin city, Iran (the source of beef cattle production was also located in Qazvin city, Iran). Methods: We used conventional culture-based and Kirby–Bauer disk diffusion and conventional and arbitrary primer PCR methods. Results: A total of 18 C. perfringens strains were isolated from 133 raw meat samples (13.53%). Up to 44.4 and 55.5% of these isolates were detected in raw minced and whole meat samples, respectively. We found that 72.2, 66.6, 61.1, 37.8 and 33.3% of the C. perfringens isolates were resistant to ampicillin, tetracycline, amoxicillin, ciprofloxacin and chloramphenicol antibiotics, respectively. Multidrug resistance was found in 38% of the isolates. Among the four main toxin genes evaluated, the Cpa gene was detected in all isolates, and 61.1% of the isolates were mostly recognized as type A C. perfringens. High levels of genetic diversity were observed among the isolates, and they were classified into five distinct groups. Conclusions: The isolates from whole meat samples were more resistant to antibiotics. However, toxin genes were more detected in the isolates from minced meat samples. Our findings suggest that contamination of raw meat products with multidrug resistant C. perfringens could be regarded as one of the concerning pathogens in these products. Comprehensive monitoring of C. perfringens isolates is strongly recommended.

Intra-species diversity of Clostridium perfringens: A diverse genetic repertoire reveals its pathogenic potential

“…Furthermore, the identification of 25 CC in this work allowed us to compare the distribution of C. perfringens isolates from animals, humans, food and environment (Figure 2B; Supplementary Figure S2), evidencing a close relationship between isolates from different hosts. These findings support the strong association with foodborne diseases and suggesting their zoonotic potential and high diversification of this specie, as previously described (Verma et al, 2020;Hassani et al, 2022;Xiu et al, 2022).…”

High Prevalence of Multidrug-Resistant, Biofilm-Forming Virulent Clostridium perfringens in Broiler Chicken Retail Points in Northeast India

“…In that study, C. perfringens was also isolated from operators' gloves, which contrasted with present results. The predominance of Type A toxinotype in this study has been validated in various parts of the world and in a variety of sources [11,14,24].…”

“…Antibiotic resistance in C. perfringens is chiefly mediated by plasmids, as well as transposons and insertion sequences [10]. Increasing reports of C. perfringens resistance to tetracycline, lincomycin, and erythromycin have been a growing concern over recent years, made worse by the ability of C. perfringens to produce biofilm and form spores [11]. Biofilms enhance resistance to antimicrobials and disinfectants and are associated with increased virulence and pathogenesis [12].…”

Bioengineered Probiotics: Synthetic Biology Can Provide Live Cell Therapeutics for the Treatment of Foodborne Diseases

“…Indeed, up to 33% of isolates from some meat samples harbor C. perfringens with resistance to the common antibiotics: ampicillin, tetracyclin, amoxicillin, ciprofloxiacin and chloramphenicol. Further multidrug resistance was found in 38% of those isolates and multidrug resistant C. perfringens has been isolated from livestock ( Zhang et al, 2021 ; Hassani et al, 2022 ). Vaccination processes that have been successful against C. tetani have also been developed for C. perfringens but have yet to become widely and successfully established ( Alizadeh et al, 2021 ).…”