RESUMO
Nontoxigenic Clostridium difficile (NTCD) has been shown to prevent fatal C. difficile infection in the hamster model when hamsters are challenged with standard toxigenic C. difficile strains. The purpose of this study was to determine if NTCD can prevent C. difficile infection in the hamster model when hamsters are challenged with restriction endonuclease analysis group BI C. difficile strains. Groups of 10 hamsters were given oral clindamycin, followed on day 2 by 10(6) CFU of spores of NTCD strain M3 or T7, and were challenged on day 5 with 100 CFU of spores of BI1 or BI6. To conserve animals, results for control hamsters challenged with BI1 or BI6 from the present study and controls from previous identical experiments were combined for statistical comparisons. NTCD strains M3 and T7 achieved 100% colonization and were 100% protective against challenge with BI1 (P ≤ 0.001). M3 colonized 9/10 hamsters and protected against BI6 challenge in the colonized hamsters (P = 0.0003). T7 colonized 10/10 hamsters, but following BI6 challenge, cocolonization occurred in 5 hamsters, 4 of which died, for protection of 6/10 animals (P = 0.02). NTCD colonization provides protection against challenge with toxigenic BI group strains. M3 is more effective than T7 in preventing C. difficile infection caused by the BI6 epidemic strain. Prevention of C. difficile infection caused by the epidemic BI6 strain may be more challenging than that of infections caused by historic BI1 and non-BI C. difficile strains.
Assuntos
Clostridioides difficile/imunologia , Proteção Cruzada , Enterocolite Pseudomembranosa/prevenção & controle , Enterocolite Pseudomembranosa/veterinária , Imunidade Heteróloga , Esporos Bacterianos/imunologia , Imunidade Adaptativa , Animais , Antibacterianos/farmacologia , Clindamicina/farmacologia , Clostridioides difficile/efeitos dos fármacos , Clostridioides difficile/patogenicidade , Cricetinae , Enterocolite Pseudomembranosa/imunologia , Enterocolite Pseudomembranosa/microbiologia , Masculino , Mesocricetus , Esporos Bacterianos/efeitos dos fármacos , Esporos Bacterianos/patogenicidadeRESUMO
Clostridium difficile is a recognized pathogen in neonatal pigs and may contribute to enteritis in calves. Toxinotype V strains have been rare causes of human C. difficile-associated disease (CDAD). We examined toxinotype V in human disease, the genetic relationship of animal and human toxinotype V strains, and in vitro toxin production of these strains. From 2001 through 2006, 8 (1.3%) of 620 patient isolates were identified as toxinotype V; before 2001, 7 (<0.02%) of approximately 6,000 isolates were identified as toxinotype V. Six (46.2%) of 13 case-patients for whom information was available had community-associated CDAD. Molecular characterization showed a high degree of similarity between human and animal toxinotype V isolates; all contained a 39-bp tcdC deletion and most produced binary toxin. Further study is needed to understand the epidemiology of CDAD caused by toxinotype V C. difficile, including the potential of foodborne transmission to humans.
