S C Lim1, N F Foster2, B Elliott3, T V Riley1,2,3,4. 1. The University of Western Australia, Nedlands, WA, Australia. 2. PathWest Laboratory Medicine, Nedlands, WA, Australia. 3. Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA, Australia. 4. Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA, Australia.
Abstract
AIMS: The incidence of community-associated Clostridium difficile infection (CA-CDI) in Australia has increased since mid-2011. With reports of clinically important C. difficile strains being isolated from retail foods in Europe and North America, a foodborne source of C. difficile in cases of CA-CDI is a possibility. This study represents the first to investigate the prevalence and genotypes of C. difficile in Australian retail vegetables. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 300 root vegetables grown in Western Australia (WA) were collected from retail stores and farmers' markets. Three vegetables of the same kind bought from the same store/market were treated as one sample. Selective enrichment culture, toxin profiling and PCR ribotyping were performed. Clostridium difficile was isolated from 30% (30/100) of pooled vegetable samples, 55·6% of organic potatoes, 50% of nonorganic potatoes, 22·2% of organic beetroots, 5·6% of organic onions and 5·3% of organic carrots. Over half (51·2%, 22/43) the isolates were toxigenic. Many of the ribotypes of C. difficile isolated were common among human and Australian animals. CONCLUSIONS: Clostridium difficile could be found commonly on retail root vegetables of WA. This may be potential sources for CA-CDI. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: This study enhances knowledge of possible sources of C. difficile in the Australian community, outside the hospital setting.
AIMS: The incidence of community-associated Clostridium difficile infection (CA-CDI) in Australia has increased since mid-2011. With reports of clinically important C. difficile strains being isolated from retail foods in Europe and North America, a foodborne source of C. difficile in cases of CA-CDI is a possibility. This study represents the first to investigate the prevalence and genotypes of C. difficile in Australian retail vegetables. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 300 root vegetables grown in Western Australia (WA) were collected from retail stores and farmers' markets. Three vegetables of the same kind bought from the same store/market were treated as one sample. Selective enrichment culture, toxin profiling and PCR ribotyping were performed. Clostridium difficile was isolated from 30% (30/100) of pooled vegetable samples, 55·6% of organic potatoes, 50% of nonorganic potatoes, 22·2% of organic beetroots, 5·6% of organic onions and 5·3% of organic carrots. Over half (51·2%, 22/43) the isolates were toxigenic. Many of the ribotypes of C. difficile isolated were common among human and Australian animals. CONCLUSIONS:Clostridium difficile could be found commonly on retail root vegetables of WA. This may be potential sources for CA-CDI. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: This study enhances knowledge of possible sources of C. difficile in the Australian community, outside the hospital setting.
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