Characterization of a multidrug resistant C. difficile meat isolate

Shankumar Mooyottu; Genevieve Flock; Anup Kollanoor-Johny; Indu Upadhyaya; Bhushan Jayarao; Kumar Venkitanarayanan

doi:10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2014.10.002

Characterization of a multidrug resistant C. difficile meat isolate

Int J Food Microbiol. 2015 Jan 2:192:111-6. doi: 10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2014.10.002. Epub 2014 Oct 7.

Authors

Shankumar Mooyottu¹, Genevieve Flock¹, Anup Kollanoor-Johny², Indu Upadhyaya¹, Bhushan Jayarao³, Kumar Venkitanarayanan⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Animal Science, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269, USA.
² Department of Animal Science, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA.
³ Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, Penn State Animal Diagnostic Laboratory, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
⁴ Department of Animal Science, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269, USA. Electronic address: kumar.venkitanarayanan@uconn.edu.

PMID: 25440554
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2014.10.002

Abstract

Clostridium difficile is a pathogen of significant public health concern causing a life-threatening, toxin-mediated enteric disease in humans. The incidence and severity of the disease associated with C. difficile have increased in the US with the emergence of hypervirulent strains and community associated outbreaks. The detection of genotypically similar and identical C. difficile strains implicated from human infections in foods and food animals indicates the potential role of food as a source of community associated C. difficile disease. One hundred samples each of ground beef, pork and chicken obtained from geographically distant grocery stores in Connecticut were tested for C. difficile. Positive isolates were characterized by ribotyping, antibiotic susceptibility, toxin production and whole genome sequencing. Of the 300 meat samples, only two pork samples tested positive for C. difficile indicating a very low prevalence of C. difficile in meat. The isolates were non toxigenic; however, genome characterization revealed the presence of several antibiotic resistance genes and mobile elements that can potentially contribute to generation of multidrug resistant toxigenic C. difficile by horizontal gene transfer. Further studies are warranted to investigate potential food-borne transmission of the meat isolates and development of multi-drug resistance in these strains.

Keywords: C. difficile; Connecticut; Foodborne; Multidrug resistant; Prevalence.

Publication types

Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Animals
Anti-Bacterial Agents / pharmacology
Clostridioides difficile / classification
Clostridioides difficile / drug effects
Clostridioides difficile / genetics*
Drug Resistance, Bacterial / genetics*
Genome, Bacterial / genetics
Meat / microbiology*
Microbial Sensitivity Tests
Molecular Sequence Data
Phylogeny
Swine

Substances

Anti-Bacterial Agents

Associated data

GENBANK/JFAF00000000