Novel molecular type of Clostridium difficile in neonatal pigs, Western Australia

Emerg Infect Dis. 2013 May;19(5):790-2. doi: 10.3201/eid1905.121062.

Abstract

Clostridium difficile causes neonatal enteritis in piglets; strains of PCR ribotype 078 are most commonly identified. We investigated C. difficile prevalence in piglets in Australia and isolated a novel strain with a unique pathogenicity locus. In a mouse infection model, this strain produced more weight loss than did a ribotype 078 strain.

Keywords: Australia; C. difficile; Cdiff; Clostridium difficile; DNA; PCR; animals; bacteria; diarrhea; domestic; enteritis; piglets; pigs; prevalence; ribotyping; sequence analysis; veterinary; zoonoses.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Animals, Newborn
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / pharmacology
  • Bacterial Proteins / biosynthesis
  • Bacterial Toxins / biosynthesis
  • Clostridioides difficile / genetics*
  • Clostridioides difficile / isolation & purification
  • Clostridioides difficile / pathogenicity*
  • Enterocolitis, Pseudomembranous / drug therapy
  • Enterocolitis, Pseudomembranous / epidemiology
  • Enterocolitis, Pseudomembranous / mortality
  • Enterocolitis, Pseudomembranous / veterinary*
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Polymerase Chain Reaction / veterinary
  • Prevalence
  • Ribotyping / veterinary
  • Survival Analysis
  • Swine / microbiology*
  • Western Australia / epidemiology

Substances

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents
  • Bacterial Proteins
  • Bacterial Toxins
  • toxB protein, Clostridium difficile