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Spigaglia P, Mastrantonio P, Barbanti F. Antibiotic Resistances of Clostridioides difficile. ADVANCES IN EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY 2024; 1435:169-198. [PMID: 38175476 DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-42108-2_9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2024]
Abstract
The rapid evolution of antibiotic resistance in Clostridioides difficile and the consequent effects on prevention and treatment of C. difficile infections (CDIs) are a matter of concern for public health. Antibiotic resistance plays an important role in driving C. difficile epidemiology. Emergence of new types is often associated with the emergence of new resistances, and most of the epidemic C. difficile clinical isolates is currently resistant to multiple antibiotics. In particular, it is to worth to note the recent identification of strains with reduced susceptibility to the first-line antibiotics for CDI treatment and/or for relapsing infections. Antibiotic resistance in C. difficile has a multifactorial nature. Acquisition of genetic elements and alterations of the antibiotic target sites, as well as other factors, such as variations in the metabolic pathways or biofilm production, contribute to the survival of this pathogen in the presence of antibiotics. Different transfer mechanisms facilitate the spread of mobile elements among C. difficile strains and between C. difficile and other species. Furthermore, data indicate that both genetic elements and alterations in the antibiotic targets can be maintained in C. difficile regardless of the burden imposed on fitness, and therefore resistances may persist in C. difficile population in absence of antibiotic selective pressure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrizia Spigaglia
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
| | - Paola Mastrantonio
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Fabrizio Barbanti
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
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Marcos P, Doyle A, Whyte P, Rogers TR, McElroy M, Fanning S, Frias J, Bolton D. Characterization of Food Chain Clostridioides difficile Isolates in Terms of Ribotype and Antimicrobial Resistance. Microorganisms 2023; 11:1296. [PMID: 37317270 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms11051296] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2023] [Revised: 05/12/2023] [Accepted: 05/12/2023] [Indexed: 06/16/2023] Open
Abstract
The aim of this study was to characterize C. difficile isolates from the farm, abattoir, and retail outlets in Ireland in terms of ribotype and antibiotic resistance (vancomycin, erythromycin, metronidazole, moxifloxacin, clindamycin, and rifampicin) using PCR and E-test methods, respectively. The most common ribotype in all stages of the food chain (including retail foods) was 078 and a variant (RT078/4). Less commonly reported (014/0, 002/1, 049, and 205) and novel (RT530, 547, and 683) ribotypes were also detected, but at lower frequencies. Approximately 72% (26/36 tested) of the isolates tested were resistant to at least one antibiotic, with the majority of these (65%; 17/26) displaying a multi-drug (three to five antibiotics) resistant phenotype. It was concluded that ribotype 078, a hypervirulent strain commonly associated with C. difficile infection (CDI) in Ireland, was the most frequent ribotype along the food chain, resistance to clinically important antibiotics was common in C. difficile food chain isolates, and there was no relationship between ribotype and antibiotic resistance profile.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pilar Marcos
- Teagasc Food Research Centre, Ashtown, Dublin 15, D15 KN3K Dublin, Ireland
- School of Veterinary Medicine, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, D04 V1W8 Dublin, Ireland
| | - Aoife Doyle
- Department of Clinical Microbiology, Trinity College Dublin, Central Pathology Laboratory, St James's Hospital, Dublin 8, D08 RX0X Dublin, Ireland
- Central Veterinary Research Laboratory, Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Backweston, Celbridge, W23 X3PH Kildare, Ireland
| | - Paul Whyte
- School of Veterinary Medicine, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, D04 V1W8 Dublin, Ireland
| | - Thomas R Rogers
- Department of Clinical Microbiology, Trinity College Dublin, Central Pathology Laboratory, St James's Hospital, Dublin 8, D08 RX0X Dublin, Ireland
| | - Máire McElroy
- Central Veterinary Research Laboratory, Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Backweston, Celbridge, W23 X3PH Kildare, Ireland
| | - Seamus Fanning
- UCD-Centre for Food Safety, School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Science, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, D04 V1W8 Dublin, Ireland
| | - Jesus Frias
- Environmental Sustainability and Health Institute, Technological University Dublin, Grangegorman, Dublin 7, D07 H6K8 Dublin, Ireland
| | - Declan Bolton
- Teagasc Food Research Centre, Ashtown, Dublin 15, D15 KN3K Dublin, Ireland
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Phenotypical and Genotypical Comparison of Clostridium difficile Isolated from Clinical Samples: Homebrew DNA Fingerprinting versus Antibiotic Susceptibility Testing (AST) and Clostridial Toxin Genes. CANADIAN JOURNAL OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES AND MEDICAL MICROBIOLOGY 2021; 2021:7386554. [PMID: 34900067 PMCID: PMC8660249 DOI: 10.1155/2021/7386554] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2021] [Revised: 10/30/2021] [Accepted: 11/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Background Clostridium (Clostridioides) difficile is recognized as the major cause of healthcare antibiotic-associated diarrhea. We surveyed a molecular epidemiological correlation between the clinical isolates from two general hospitals in Iran through clustering toxigenic types and antibiotic susceptibility testing (AST) accuracy. Methods Study population included 460 diarrhoeic specimens from inpatients with a history of antibiotic therapy. All samples underwent enriched anaerobic culture, confirmed by detection of gluD gene with PCR. Toxin status and AST were assessed by the disk diffusion method (DDM) and minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of metronidazole, vancomycin, and rifampin. C. difficile outbreak was analyzed through conventional PCR by tracing toxin genes and Homebrew pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) for characterizing isolates within our healthcare systems. Results A total of 29 C. difficile strains were isolated by enriched anaerobic culture from the clinical samples. Among them, 22 (4.8%) toxigenic profiles yielded toxins A and B (tcdA, tcdB) and binary toxins (cdtA, cdtB). The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was 18.1% and 9% for vancomycin and metronidazole, and all isolates were susceptible to rifampicin and its minimum inhibitory concentration was at <0.003 μg/mL. The most dominant toxigenic and antibiotic-resistant “pulsotype F” was detected through PFGE combined with multiple Clostridial toxigenic pattern and AST. Conclusions DNA fingerprinting studies represent a powerful tool in surveying hypervirulent C. difficile strains in clinical settings. Resistance to vancomycin and metronidazole, as first-line antibiotics, necessitate accomplishment of proper control strategies and also prescription of tigecycline as a more appropriate option.
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Lachowicz D, Pituch H, Wultańska D, Kuijper E, Obuch-Woszczatyński P. Surveillance of antimicrobial susceptibilities reveals high proportions of multidrug resistance in toxigenic Clostridium difficile strains in different areas of Poland. Anaerobe 2020; 62:102167. [PMID: 32109736 DOI: 10.1016/j.anaerobe.2020.102167] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2019] [Revised: 01/13/2020] [Accepted: 01/25/2020] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Two hundred and fifty-three non-duplicate toxigenic Clostridium difficile isolates, collected from February 2012 to December 2014, were evaluated for phenotypic resistance to ten antimicrobial drugs with the E-test gradient diffusion method. All strains of C. difficile were susceptible to metronidazole, vancomycin, and tigecycline. The metronidazole MIC values of the hyperepidemic PCR-ribotypes RT027 and RT176 were higher than those of non-epidemic PCR-ribotypes (p < 0.05, as evidenced by Mann-Whitney U test). In contrast, vancomycin susceptibility did not differ between hyperepidemic and non-epidemic strains, although the difference was almost significant (p = 0.065). Clostridium difficile RT027 and RT176 isolates could be assessed to five and four different susceptibility patterns, respectively, representing various combinations of resistance to different antimicrobial classes. A single point mutation (Thr82Ile) in the gyrA gene was detected in 11 (78.6%) of 14 isolates with high level of resistance to ciprofloxacin and moxifloxacin and four different types of single point mutations (Arg447Lys, Ser416Ala, Asp426Val, Asp426Asn) in the gyrB gene were detected in 4 strains, also with high level of resistance to ciprofloxacin and moxifloxacin. Four different point mutations were detected in the rpoB gene in 21 rifampicin-resistant strains of which one has not been reported previously, Gln489Leu. This study demonstrates the presence of multidrug-resistant C. difficile strains in Polish hospitals over the study period, irrespective of geographical location or reference level of the hospital.
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Affiliation(s)
- D Lachowicz
- Department of Medical Microbiology, Medical University of Warsaw, Poland; Department of Medical Microbiology, The Infant Jesus Teaching Hospital, Warsaw, Poland
| | - H Pituch
- Department of Medical Microbiology, Medical University of Warsaw, Poland.
| | - D Wultańska
- Department of Medical Microbiology, Medical University of Warsaw, Poland
| | - E Kuijper
- Department of Medical Microbiology, Center of Infectious Diseases, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands
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Urbán E, Terhes G, Gajdács M. Extraintestinal Clostridioides difficile Infections: Epidemiology in a University Hospital in Hungary and Review of the Literature. Antibiotics (Basel) 2020; 9:antibiotics9010016. [PMID: 31906470 PMCID: PMC7167916 DOI: 10.3390/antibiotics9010016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2019] [Revised: 12/26/2019] [Accepted: 12/31/2019] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Extraintestinal manifestations of Clostridioides difficile infections (CDIs) are very uncommon, and according to the literature, poor outcomes and a high mortality have been observed among affected individuals. The objective of this study was to investigate the incidence rate of extraintestinal infections caused by C. difficile (ECD) in a tertiary-care university hospital in Hungary. During a 10-year study period, the microbiology laboratory isolated 4129 individual strains of C. difficile; among these, the majority were either from diarrheal fecal samples or from colonic material and only n = 24 (0.58%) were from extraintestinal sources. The 24 extraintestinal C. difficile isolates were recovered from 22 patients (female-to-male ratio: 1, average age: 55.4 years). The isolates in n = 8 patients were obtained from abdominal infections, e.g., appendicitis, rectal abscess or Crohn’s disease. These extraintestinal cases occurred without concomitant diarrhea. In all, but two cases C. difficile was obtained as a part of a polymicrobial flora. Our isolates were frequently toxigenic and mostly belonged to PCR ribotype 027. Resistance to metronidazole, vancomycin, clindamycin and rifampin were 0%, 0%, 20.5% and 9.7%, respectively. The increasing amount of reports of C. difficile extraintestinal infections should be noted, as these infections are characterized by a poor outcome and high mortality rate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edit Urbán
- Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Szeged, Dóm tér 10., 6720 Szeged, Hungary
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +36-62-342-861
| | - Gabriella Terhes
- Institute of Clinical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Szeged, Semmelweis utca 6., 6725 Szeged, Hungary;
| | - Márió Gajdács
- Department of Pharmacodynamics and Biopharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Szeged, Eötvös utca 6., 6720 Szeged, Hungary;
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Cui QQ, Yang J, Niu YN, Qiang CX, Li ZR, Xu KY, Li RX, Shi DY, Wei HL, Zhao XZ, Wang XM, Sun SJ, Zhao JH. Epidemiological investigation of Clostridioides difficile colonization in Chinese community infants. Anaerobe 2019; 56:116-123. [PMID: 30849459 DOI: 10.1016/j.anaerobe.2019.01.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2018] [Revised: 01/16/2019] [Accepted: 01/17/2019] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Clostridioides difficile is a colonizer of the human gut; asymptomatic colonization has been reported to be more common in infants and is highly variable across regions even with no symptoms of diarrhea or death. Antibiotic treatment strategies might increase the antibiotic resistance of C. difficile. We performed a one-point study involving 1098 healthy infants (0-36 months) to address the deficiency of reports on C. difficile colonization in Chinese community infants. The C. difficile colonization rate was 22.8% (250/1098), and more than half of the strains (55.2%) were toxigenic isolates. Among the 138 toxigenic isolates, 111 were of the A+B+CDT- genotype, 26 strains were A-B+CDT-, and one strain was A+B+CDT+. Fifteen different PCR ribotypes were found among the 250 isolates, and PCR-ribotype HB03 appeared to be dominant type, accounting for 19.6% (49/250). High levels of resistance to antimicrobial agents were observed. Our study showed that age and hospitalization before stool collection were positively correlated with the C. difficile colonization rate, whereas the delivery term was negatively related to the colonization rate. Particular attention should be paid to the increasing resistance of C. difficile to rifamycin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qing-Qing Cui
- Hebei Provincial Center for Clinical Laboratories, Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province, China
| | - Jing Yang
- Hebei Provincial Center for Clinical Laboratories, Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province, China
| | - Ya-Nan Niu
- Hebei Provincial Center for Clinical Laboratories, Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province, China
| | - Cui-Xin Qiang
- Hebei Provincial Center for Clinical Laboratories, Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province, China
| | - Zhi-Rong Li
- Hebei Provincial Center for Clinical Laboratories, Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province, China
| | - Kai-Yue Xu
- Hebei Provincial Center for Clinical Laboratories, Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province, China
| | - Ru-Xin Li
- Hebei Provincial Center for Clinical Laboratories, Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province, China
| | - Dong-Yan Shi
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province, China
| | - Hong-Lian Wei
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province, China
| | - Xing-Zhen Zhao
- Hebei Provincial Center for Clinical Laboratories, Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province, China
| | - Xiao-Ming Wang
- Hebei Provincial Center for Clinical Laboratories, Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province, China
| | - Su-Ju Sun
- College of Public Health, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province, China.
| | - Jian-Hong Zhao
- Hebei Provincial Center for Clinical Laboratories, Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province, China; Department of Clinical Laboratory, Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province, China.
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Clostridium difficile Infections: A Global Overview of Drug Sensitivity and Resistance Mechanisms. BIOMED RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2018; 2018:8414257. [PMID: 29682562 PMCID: PMC5841113 DOI: 10.1155/2018/8414257] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/24/2017] [Accepted: 01/28/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) is the most prevalent causative pathogen of healthcare-associated diarrhea. Notably, over the past 10 years, the number of Clostridium difficile outbreaks has increased with the rate of morbidity and mortality. The occurrence and spread of C. difficile strains that are resistant to multiple antimicrobial drugs complicate prevention as well as potential treatment options. Most C. difficile isolates are still susceptible to metronidazole and vancomycin. Incidences of C. difficile resistance to other antimicrobial drugs have also been reported. Most of the antibiotics correlated with C. difficile infection (CDI), such as ampicillin, amoxicillin, cephalosporins, clindamycin, and fluoroquinolones, continue to be associated with the highest risk for CDI. Still, the detailed mechanism of resistance to metronidazole or vancomycin is not clear. Alternation in the target sites of the antibiotics is the main mechanism of erythromycin, fluoroquinolone, and rifamycin resistance in C. difficile. In this review, different antimicrobial agents are discussed and C. difficile resistance patterns and their mechanism of survival are summarized.
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Antibiotic Resistances of Clostridium difficile. ADVANCES IN EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY 2018; 1050:137-159. [PMID: 29383668 DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-72799-8_9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
The rapid evolution of antibiotic resistance in Clostridium difficile and the consequent effects on prevention and treatment of C. difficile infections (CDIs) are matter of concern for public health. Antibiotic resistance plays an important role in driving C. difficile epidemiology. Emergence of new types is often associated with the emergence of new resistances and most of epidemic C. difficile clinical isolates is currently resistant to multiple antibiotics. In particular, it is to worth to note the recent identification of strains with reduced susceptibility to the first-line antibiotics for CDI treatment and/or for relapsing infections. Antibiotic resistance in C. difficile has a multifactorial nature. Acquisition of genetic elements and alterations of the antibiotic target sites, as well as other factors, such as variations in the metabolic pathways and biofilm production, contribute to the survival of this pathogen in the presence of antibiotics. Different transfer mechanisms facilitate the spread of mobile elements among C. difficile strains and between C. difficile and other species. Furthermore, recent data indicate that both genetic elements and alterations in the antibiotic targets can be maintained in C. difficile regardless of the burden imposed on fitness, and therefore resistances may persist in C. difficile population in absence of antibiotic selective pressure.
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Spigaglia P. Recent advances in the understanding of antibiotic resistance in Clostridium difficile infection. Ther Adv Infect Dis 2016; 3:23-42. [PMID: 26862400 DOI: 10.1177/2049936115622891] [Citation(s) in RCA: 145] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Clostridium difficile epidemiology has changed in recent years, with the emergence of highly virulent types associated with severe infections, high rates of recurrences and mortality. Antibiotic resistance plays an important role in driving these epidemiological changes and the emergence of new types. While clindamycin resistance was driving historical endemic types, new types are associated with resistance to fluoroquinolones. Furthermore, resistance to multiple antibiotics is a common feature of the newly emergent strains and, in general, of many epidemic isolates. A reduced susceptibility to antibiotics used for C. difficile infection (CDI) treatment, in particular to metronidazole, has recently been described in several studies. Furthermore, an increased number of strains show resistance to rifamycins, used for the treatment of relapsing CDI. Several mechanisms of resistance have been identified in C. difficile, including acquisition of genetic elements and alterations of the antibiotic target sites. The C. difficile genome contains a plethora of mobile genetic elements, many of them involved in antibiotic resistance. Transfer of genetic elements among C. difficile strains or between C. difficile and other bacterial species can occur through different mechanisms that facilitate their spread. Investigations of the fitness cost in C. difficile indicate that both genetic elements and mutations in the molecular targets of antibiotics can be maintained regardless of the burden imposed on fitness, suggesting that resistances may persist in the C. difficile population also in absence of antibiotic selective pressure. The rapid evolution of antibiotic resistance and its composite nature complicate strategies in the treatment and prevention of CDI. The rapid identification of new phenotypic and genotypic traits, the implementation of effective antimicrobial stewardship and infection control programs, and the development of alternative therapies are needed to prevent and contain the spread of resistance and to ensure an efficacious therapy for CDI.
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Baines SD, Wilcox MH. Antimicrobial Resistance and Reduced Susceptibility in Clostridium difficile: Potential Consequences for Induction, Treatment, and Recurrence of C. difficile Infection. Antibiotics (Basel) 2015; 4:267-98. [PMID: 27025625 PMCID: PMC4790285 DOI: 10.3390/antibiotics4030267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2015] [Revised: 07/02/2015] [Accepted: 07/03/2015] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) remains a substantial burden on healthcare systems and is likely to remain so given our reliance on antimicrobial therapies to treat bacterial infections, especially in an aging population in whom multiple co-morbidities are common. Antimicrobial agents are a key component in the aetiology of CDI, both in the establishment of the infection and also in its treatment. The purpose of this review is to summarise the role of antimicrobial agents in primary and recurrent CDI; assessing why certain antimicrobial classes may predispose to the induction of CDI according to a balance between antimicrobial activity against the gut microflora and C. difficile. Considering these aspects of CDI is important in both the prevention of the infection and in the development of new antimicrobial treatments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon D Baines
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, School of Life and Medical Sciences, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield AL10 9AB, UK.
| | - Mark H Wilcox
- Leeds Institute of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK.
- Department of Microbiology, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, The General Infirmary, Leeds LS1 3EX, UK.
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Martinson JNV, Broadaway S, Lohman E, Johnson C, Alam MJ, Khaleduzzaman M, Garey KW, Schlackman J, Young VB, Santhosh K, Rao K, Lyons RH, Walk ST. Evaluation of portability and cost of a fluorescent PCR ribotyping protocol for Clostridium difficile epidemiology. J Clin Microbiol 2015; 53:1192-7. [PMID: 25631804 PMCID: PMC4365229 DOI: 10.1128/jcm.03591-14] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2014] [Accepted: 01/22/2015] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Clostridium difficile is the most commonly identified pathogen among health care-associated infections in the United States. There is a need for accurate and low-cost typing tools that produce comparable data across studies (i.e., portable data) to help characterize isolates during epidemiologic investigations of C. difficile outbreaks and sporadic cases of disease. The most popular C. difficile-typing technique is PCR ribotyping, and we previously developed methods using fluorescent PCR primers and amplicon sizing on a Sanger-style sequencer to generate fluorescent PCR ribotyping data. This technique has been used to characterize tens of thousands of C. difficile isolates from cases of disease. Here, we present validation of a protocol for the cost-effective generation of fluorescent PCR ribotyping data. A key component of this protocol is the ability to accurately identify PCR ribotypes against an online database (http://walklab.rcg.montana.edu) at no cost. We present results from a blinded multicenter study to address data portability across four different laboratories and three different sequencing centers. Our standardized protocol and centralized database for typing of C. difficile pathogens will increase comparability between studies so that important epidemiologic linkages between cases of disease and patterns of emergence can be rapidly identified.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan N V Martinson
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana, USA
| | - Susan Broadaway
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana, USA
| | - Egan Lohman
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana, USA
| | - Christina Johnson
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana, USA
| | - M Jahangir Alam
- College of Pharmacy, University of Houston, Houston, Texas, USA
| | | | - Kevin W Garey
- College of Pharmacy, University of Houston, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Jessica Schlackman
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Vincent B Young
- Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA Division of Infectious Diseases, Veterans Affairs Ann Arbor Healthcare System, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - Kavitha Santhosh
- Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - Krishna Rao
- Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA Division of Infectious Diseases, Veterans Affairs Ann Arbor Healthcare System, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - Robert H Lyons
- Department of Biological Chemistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - Seth T Walk
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana, USA
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