The molecular characters and antibiotic resistance of Clostridioides difficile from economic animals in China

Abstract

Background: It has been performed worldwidely to explore the potential of animals that might be a reservoir for community associated human infections of Clostridioides difficile. Several genetically undistinguished PCR ribotypes of C. difficile from animals and human have been reported, illustrating potential transmission of C. difficile between them. Pig and calf were considered as the main origins of C. difficile with predominant RT078 and RT033, respectively. As more investigations involved, great diversity of molecular types from pig and calf were reported in Europe, North American and Australia. However, there were quite limited research on C. difficile isolates from meat animals in China, leading to non-comprehensive understanding of molecular epidemiology of C. difficile in China. Results: A total of 55 C. difficile were isolated from 953 animal stool samples, within which 51 strains were from newborn dairy calf less than 7 days in Shandong Province. These isolates were divided into 3 STs and 6 RTs, of which ST11/RT126 was predominant type, and responsible for majority antibiotic resistance isolates. All the isolates were resistant to at least one tested antibiotics, however, only two multidrug resistant (MDR) isolates were identified. Furthermore, erythromycin (ERY) and clindamycin (CLI) were the two main resistant antibiotics. None of the isolates were resistant to vancomycin (VAN), metronidazole (MTZ), tetracycline (TET), and rifampin (RIF). Conclusions: In this study, we analyzed the prevalence, molecular characters and antibiotic resistance of C. difficile from calf, sheep, chicken, and pig in China. Some unique features were found here: first, RT126 not RT078 were the dominant type from baby calf, and none isolates were got from pig; second, on the whole, isolates from animals display relative lower resistant rate to these 11 tested antibiotics, compared with isolates from human in China in our previous report. Our study helps to deep understanding the situation of C. difficile from economic animals in China, and to further study the potential transmission of C. difficile between meat animals and human.

Clostridioides difficile in Calves in Central Italy: Prevalence, Molecular Typing, Antimicrobial Susceptibility and Association with Antibiotic Administration

“…In our study, RT-126, -033, -078 and -010 turned out to be the most common ribotypes, each isolated from more than one farm. This finding is in accordance with what we have reported in calves in Italy [17] and is consistent with the literature, which indicates that these ribotypes as the most common ones in neonatal calves and piglets in Europe and Asia [15,24,34,40,41,[54][55][56][57][58].…”

“…It is known that calves and piglets are among the predominant animals harboring C. difficile. Newborns in general are characterised by higher prevalence rates since age is a key factor that affects the isolation of C. difficile in animals [15]. The consumption of contaminated meat, due to the high prevalence of C. difficile in livestock animals (including calves and piglets), represents a potential mechanism for transmission [16].…”

Comparative genomic and transmission analysis of Clostridioides difficile between environmental, animal, and clinical sources in China

“…However, studies on C. difficile in non-human hosts are rare in China, all of which are limited to epidemiological investigations [ 16 , 17 ]. There is a lack of studies on genomic characteristics and transmission patterns of C. difficile strains from multiple sources such as animals and the environment.…”

The Colonisation of Calves in Czech Large-Scale Dairy Farms by Clonally-Related Clostridioides difficile of the Sequence Type 11 Represented by Ribotypes 033 and 126

“…In livestock, calves are frequently colonized by C. difficile [ 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 ]. Surprisingly, the spectrum of identified genotypes is very similar within countries as well as continents.…”

“…Surprisingly, the spectrum of identified genotypes is very similar within countries as well as continents. The most frequent ribotypes (RTs) identified in calf faeces were 078, 126 and 033 in Europe and Asia [ 9 , 11 , 13 ] and 127 and 288 in Australia [ 8 ]. These ribotypes belong to the same sequence type and clade (11/5) but differ in toxin gene profiles [ 8 , 15 ].…”