University of Pennsylvania, School of Veterinary Medicine, Kennett Square, PA, USA.
University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Anaerobe. 2021 Jun;69:102353. doi: 10.1016/j.anaerobe.2021.102353. Epub 2021 Feb 25.
Clostridioides difficile causes severe colitis in people and is a significant enteric pathogen in many species of animals, including swine, horses, and potentially cattle. C. difficile is shed in feces, and transmission occurs horizontally via the fecal-oral route. Livestock has been suggested as a potential reservoir for C. difficile, and while studies have shown that swine and farm workers can be colonized with identical clones of C. difficile, the zoonotic transmission of C. difficile from livestock to people has not been definitively demonstrated. The goal of this study was to determine whether dairy calves and dairy farm workers harbored genetically similar isolates of C. difficile. First, we validated a glove juice protocol for detecting C. difficile on farm workers' hands. We then visited 23 farms and collected 1) fecal samples from 92 dairy calves, 2) hand rinsates from 38 dairy farm workers, and 3) fecal samples from five of the dairy farm workers who were willing to submit them. All samples underwent anaerobic culture and qPCR to detect C. difficile. C. difficile was detected on 15 of the farms (65.2%, 95% confidence interval (CI) 42.7%-83.6%) and in 28 calves (30.4%, 95% CI 21.2-40.9%) but in none of the hand rinsates or human fecal samples. Thus, the zoonotic transmission of C. difficile on dairy farms could not be demonstrated, and dairy farmers did not appear to be at increased risk of acquiring C. difficile via the fecal-oral route.
艰难梭菌可导致人和多种动物（包括猪、马和牛）发生严重结肠炎，是一种重要的肠道病原体。艰难梭菌存在于粪便中，通过粪-口途径水平传播。有研究表明家畜可能是艰难梭菌的潜在储存宿主，虽然有研究表明猪和农场工人可能会定植相同克隆的艰难梭菌，但艰难梭菌从家畜向人传播的人畜共患病尚未得到明确证实。本研究旨在确定奶牛犊牛和奶牛场工人是否携带遗传相似的艰难梭菌分离株。首先，我们验证了一种手套擦拭液方案，用于检测农场工人手上的艰难梭菌。然后，我们访问了 23 个农场，收集了 1）92 头奶牛的粪便样本，2）38 名奶牛场工人的手部冲洗液样本，以及 3）5 名愿意提交样本的奶牛场工人的粪便样本。所有样本均进行了厌氧培养和 qPCR 检测艰难梭菌。在 15 个农场（65.2%，95%置信区间（CI）42.7%-83.6%）和 28 头奶牛（30.4%，95%CI 21.2-40.9%）中检测到艰难梭菌，但在手部冲洗液或人粪便样本中均未检测到艰难梭菌。因此，未能证明在奶牛场发生艰难梭菌的人畜共患病传播，而且奶牛场工人似乎没有通过粪-口途径感染艰难梭菌的风险增加。
