Clostridium difficile in neonates: serogrouping and epidemiology.

A typing scheme for Clostridium difficile based on serogrouping, toxigenicity and sorbitol fermentation was applied to 270 strains isolated in one neonatal ward during a 6-month prospective study. Two hundred and twenty-three strains were isolated from 377 faecal samples of 114 neonates and 47 from 92 environmental specimens. The isolates were distributed among five different types; 87% of the faecal and 85% of the environmental isolates belonged to two of these types (toxigenic, sorbitol negative, serogroup F and nontoxigenic, sorbitol positive, serogroup A). Nosocomial spread was clearly demonstrated and the environment appeared to be the main source of contamination: most of the neonates were colonized after admission by strains found in their environment; clusters of colonization with unusual isolates were observed following referral of patients from the intensive care unit or from other hospitals. No relation was found between the acquisition or the carriage of C. difficile and any intestinal symptoms. All the strains belonged to types different from those usually found in cases of antibiotic associated colitis (AAC) suggesting differences of pathogenicity among the different types.