Teagasc Food Research Centre, Ashtown, Dublin 15, Ireland; School of Veterinary Medicine, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland.
School of Veterinary Medicine, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland.
Food Microbiol. 2021 Sep;98:103781. doi: 10.1016/j.fm.2021.103781. Epub 2021 Feb 27.
An increasing proportion of Clostridioides difficile infections (CDI) are community acquired. This study tested farm, abattoir and retail food samples for C. difficile, using peer reviewed culture and molecular methods. The contamination rate on beef, sheep and broiler farms ranged from 2/30 (7%) to 25/30 (83%) in faeces, soil and water samples, while concentrations ranged from 2.9 log cfu/ml to 8.4 log cfu/g. The prevalence and associated counts were much lower in abattoir samples. Although 26/60 were C. difficile positive by enrichment and PCR, only 6 samples yielded counts by direct plating (1.1 log cfu/cm to 5.1 log cfu/g). At retail, 9/240 samples were C. difficile positive, including corned beef (1), spinach leaves (2), iceberg lettuce, little gem lettuce, wild rocket, coleslaw, whole milk yogurt and cottage cheese (1 sample each), with counts of up to 6.8 log cfu/g. The tcdA, tcdB, cdtA, cdtB, tcdC and tcdR genes were detected in 41%, 99.2%, 33.6%, 32%, 46.7% and 31.1%, respectively, of the 122 C. difficile isolates obtained. It was concluded that although the prevalence of C. difficile decreased along the food chain, retail foods were still heavily contaminated. This pathogen may therefore be foodborne, perhaps necessitating dietary advice for potentially vulnerable patients.
越来越多的艰难梭菌感染（CDI）是社区获得性的。本研究使用经过同行评审的培养和分子方法，对农场、屠宰场和零售食品样本进行艰难梭菌检测。在牛、羊和肉鸡养殖场的粪便、土壤和水样中，艰难梭菌的污染率在 2/30（7%）到 25/30（83%）之间，浓度范围从 2.9 log cfu/ml 到 8.4 log cfu/g。在屠宰场样本中，患病率和相关计数要低得多。尽管 26/60 个样本通过富集和 PCR 呈艰难梭菌阳性，但只有 6 个样本通过直接平板培养得出计数（1.1 log cfu/cm 到 5.1 log cfu/g）。在零售环节，240 个样本中有 9/240 个艰难梭菌阳性，包括咸牛肉（1）、菠菜叶（2）、冰生菜、小宝石生菜、野生火箭菜、凉拌卷心菜、全脂牛奶酸奶和农家干酪（各 1 个样本），计数高达 6.8 log cfu/g。在所获得的 122 株艰难梭菌分离株中，分别检测到 tcdA、tcdB、cdtA、cdtB、tcdC 和 tcdR 基因的 41%、99.2%、33.6%、32%、46.7%和 31.1%。结论是，尽管艰难梭菌的患病率沿着食物链降低，但零售食品仍然受到严重污染。因此，这种病原体可能是食源性的，可能需要对有潜在脆弱性的患者进行饮食建议。
