Abstract
A total of 35 Brazilian isolates of Clostridium difficile from faecal stools and four isolates from hospital environments were analyzed by PCR ribotyping. A whole cell protein profile (as an alternative for serogrouping), in vitro toxin production and susceptibility to vancomycin, metronidazole and clindamycin were also investigated. All strains were typeable by both phenotypic and genotypic methods, and a total of 13 different PCR ribotypes were identified, of which seven (132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 142 and 143) were considered new types and accounted for 78.5% of all samples evaluated (including hospital environments). A non-toxigenic C. difficile PCR ribotype 133 was detected in all children groups examined (inpatients, outpatients and healthy children), whilst toxigenic PCR ribotypes 015, 131, 134 and 135 were associated mostly with symptomatic children. Serogroups G and D were disseminated both in patients from the community and from the pediatric hospital, with group G prevalent among outpatient children. All strains were susceptible to vancomycin and metronidazole but high levels of resistance to clindamycin were found, especially among serogroups G and D. Co-existence of different ribotypes and serogroups in the same individual was observed. The new seven ribotypes found in this investigation may represent strains characteristic of this region of Brazil.
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Abbreviations
- AAD:
-
Antibiotic-associated diarrhea
- PMC:
-
Pseudomembranous colitis
- PRAS:
-
Pre-reduced Anaerobically Sterilized
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Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to Joaquim Santos Filho for technical assistance, Dr. Claudia Mendonça, Dr. Rafael Duarte and Prof. Dr. Lucia Teixeira (UFRJ) for SDS-PAGE analysis system assistance; Dr. Michel Delmée (Unité de Microbiologie - Université Catholique de Louvain, Bruxelles, Belgium) for reference strains of serogrouping and to medical staff of Pediatric Institute Prof. Martagão Gesteira from UFRJ. This work was supported by grants from the following Institutions: CNPq, Pronex, FUJB and Faperj.
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Alcides, A.P.P., Brazier, J.S., Pinto, L.J.F. et al. New PCR ribotypes of Clostridium difficile detected in children in Brazil. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek 92, 53–59 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10482-006-9134-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10482-006-9134-2