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Abstract :
[en] Clostridium difficile is an anaerobic gram-positive spore-forming bacillus identified as a severe pathogenic agent in animals and humans. Its recent isolation in foods opens up the occurrence of alimentary origin infections. The objective of the study is to establish if there is a reservoir of bacteria in animals engaged to human feed and consequent true risk of transmission to humans through the food chain. A total of 437 fecal samples were analyzed. Stools (202 from beef and 194 from pigs) were collected at the slaughterhouse and from breeding farms (18 from calves and 23 from piglets). Enrichment culture was carried out using a cycloserine cefoxitin fructose taurocholate broth. Isolates were identified by PCR detection of tpi, tcdA, tcdB and cdtA genes. Toxic activity was confirmed by a fecal cytotoxin inmmunoessay. Further characterization was performed by PCR ribotyping. Clostridium difficile was cultured from 8% (35/437) of the total samples: 14 from beef at slaughterhouse (6,9%), 17 from piglets (73,9%) and 4 from calves (22,2%) at breeding farms. Thirty-two of the total strains were toxin positive. Sixteen different PCR ribotypes were identified with type 078 predominant in breeding farms of calves (75%) and pigs (64,7%). Isolates from beef presented widest range in ribotypical variety. Present study proves the presence of Clostridium difficile in animals engaged to food in Belgium. The presence of the bacteria at the slaughterhouse and the high prevalence of pathogenic strains states a true risk of contamination to humans through the food chain.
