Abstract
ABSTRACT The aim of the present study was to isolate Clostridium perfringens and C. difficile in crab-eating fox (Cerdocyon thous) from Northeastern Brazil. Stool samples of 18 captive crab-eating foxes from four states of Northeastern Brazil (Alagoas, Bahia, Paraíba e Pernambuco) were collected and subjected to C. perfringens and C. difficile isolation. Suggestive colonies of C. perfringens were then analyzed for genes encoding the major C. perfringens toxins (alpha, beta, epsilon and iota), beta-2 toxin (cpb2), enterotoxin (cpe), and NetB- (netB) and NetF- (netF) encoding genes. C. difficile strains were analyzed by multiplex-PCR for a housekeeping gene (tpi), toxins A (tcdA) and B (tcdB) and a binary toxin gene (cdtB). Unthawed aliquots of stool samples positive for toxigenic C. difficile were subjected to a commercial ELISA to evaluate the presence of A/B toxins. Clostridium perfringens (type A) was isolated from five (27%) samples, and only one sample was positive for beta-2 enconding gene (cpb2). Two (11%) stool samples were positive for C. difficile, but negative for A/B toxins. These two wild canids were also positive for C. perfringens type A. This is the first report of C. difficile in crab-eating fox.
Highlights
The crab-eating fox (Cerdocyon thous) is a member of the Canidae family and is widely distributed in South America countries, includingColombia, Venezuela, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina and Brazil
The screening for virulence factors genes could contribute to the knowledge of C. perfringens epidemiology in wild animals but, despite few studies, the main genotypes and the most common additional virulence factors of C. perfringens strains isolated from Canidae are largely unknown (Silva et al, 2016)
It is interesting to note that only one sample, obtained from Pernambuco state, was positive for beta-2 enconding gene, while Silva et al (2014a) reported 34.6% rate in a study with several carnivore species including C. thous, Puma concolor, Leopardus tigrinus, Leopardus pardalis, Chrysocyon brachyurus and others
Summary
The crab-eating fox (Cerdocyon thous) is a member of the Canidae family and is widely distributed in South America countries, includingColombia, Venezuela, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina and Brazil. Clostridium perfringens and C. difficile are Gram-positive sporogenic anaerobic bacterium and are recognized as pathogens responsible for intestinal disease in human and animals (Silva and Lobato et al, 2015, Rodriguez et al, 2016). The screening for virulence factors genes could contribute to the knowledge of C. perfringens epidemiology in wild animals but, despite few studies, the main genotypes and the most common additional virulence factors of C. perfringens strains isolated from Canidae are largely unknown (Silva et al, 2016). C. difficile infection (CDI) commonly occurs in elderly hospitalized patients submitted to antibiotic therapy, so CDI is recognized as a primarily nosocomial disease (Loo et al, 2011). Some studies have shown a genetic overlap from C. difficile strains from humans and animals, suggesting it might be a zoonotic pathogen (Knetsch et al, 2014)
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