Human and Porcine Transmission of Clostridioides difficile Ribotype 078, Europe.

Geraldine Moloney,David W Eyre,Micheál Mac Aogáin,Tim E.A Peto,Thomas R Rogers,Alison Vaughan,Máire C Mcelroy,Derrick W Crook

doi:10.3201/eid2709.203468

Abstract

Highlights

Genomic analysis of a diverse collection of Clostridioides difficile ribotype 078 isolates from Ireland and 9 countries in Europe provided evidence for complex regional and international patterns of dissemination that is not restricted to humans
Findings of genomic analysis of isolates from the European, Multi-Center, Prospective, Biannual, Point-Prevalence Study of Clostridium difficile Infection in Hospitalized Patients with Diarrhea (EUCLID) showed that specific C. difficile ribotypes were associated with healthcare clusters, and other ribotypes had an international distribution across Europe (8)
We have reported C. difficile ribotype 078 in cases of typhlocolitis in neonatal piglets in Ireland (9), and Knetsch et al found that ribotype 078 isolates carried by farmers in the Netherlands and their pigs were identical by whole-genome sequence analysis (10)

Summary

Introduction

Genomic analysis of a diverse collection of Clostridioides difficile ribotype 078 isolates from Ireland and 9 countries in Europe provided evidence for complex regional and international patterns of dissemination that is not restricted to humans. These isolates are associated with C. difficile colonization and clinical illness in humans and pigs. Eyre et al reported that only 35% of nosocomial C. difficile infections (CDIs) were potentially attributable to other cases on the basis of genomic data, and only 19% were linked through sharing possible hospital-based contact (1) This finding suggests that a major proportion of C. difficile from CDI cases occurring in healthcare institutions originates from other sources, including the community (2). Carriage rates in calves (56%) and cows (13%) have been lower

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