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Journal of veterinary internal medicine2021; 35(2); 1140-1146; doi: 10.1111/jvim.16094

Clostridioides (Clostridium) difficile in neonatal foals and mares at a referral hospital.

Abstract: Understanding the epidemiology of Clostridium difficile is important for the development and assessment of infection prevention and control practices, as well as surveillance methods and interpretation of diagnostic testing results. Objective: Our objective was to longitudinally evaluate C. difficile shedding in neonatal foals and mares admitted to a referral hospital neonatal intensive care unit. Methods: Foals admitted to a neonatal intensive care unit, along with their dams. Methods: Rectal swabs were collected from mares and foals at admission, and then approximately every 3 days, when possible. Selective culture for C. difficile was performed and isolates were characterized by toxin gene PCR and ribotyping. Results: Clostridium difficile was isolated from 103/409 (25%) samples; 65/208 (31%) from foals and 38/201 (19%) from mares. Cumulatively, C. difficile was isolated from at least 1 sample from 50/113 (44%) foals and 30/97 (31%) mares. No association was found between hospitalization day and isolation of C. difficile (P = .13). Twenty-three different ribotypes were identified, with ribotype 078 predominating. Fifteen foals had 2 positive samples during hospitalization. In only 6/15 (40%) foals was the same strain identified both times (5 ribotype 078 and 1 ribotype 012). Conclusions: Clostridium difficile is an important pathogen in adult horses and foals, and our findings highlight the complexity surrounding the epidemiology of this opportunistic pathogen. It can be found commonly, transiently, and cluster within a facility in the absence of identifiable disease occurrences or clusters.
© 2021 The Authors. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine.
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Publication Date: 2021-03-03 PubMed ID: 33656757PubMed Central: PMC7995440DOI: 10.1111/jvim.16094Google Scholar: Lookup
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Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

This research examines the presence and transmission of Clostridium difficile, a bacteria causing serious illnesses, in neonatal foals and mares at an intensive care unit in a referral hospital. It highlights the complexity and variability of this pathogen’s epidemiology.

Research Objective

  • The main objective of this study was to evaluate longitudinally the shedding, or release, of C. difficile bacteria in both neonatal foals and their mares admitted at a referral hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit.

Methods and Material

  • Researchers carried out the study by collecting rectal swab samples from admitted foals and their dams, approximately every 3 days as possible.
  • The collected swabs underwent selective culture for C. difficile. Later, the isolates garnered from these swabs were characterized using toxin gene PCR and ribotyping for further analysis.

Results

  • The study revealed that C. difficile was isolated from 25% of the total samples. Out of these, 31% were from foals while 19% were from mares.
  • In cumulative terms, the bacteria was isolated from a single sample from 44% of foals and 31% of mares.
  • The research found no significant association between the day of hospitalization and the isolation of C. difficile. That means the bacteria could be found at any stage of hospitalization.
  • Among the identified strains, ribotype 078 was the most common. In 40% of foals that had two positive samples during hospitalization, the same strain was identified on both occasions.

Conclusions

  • The research concluded that C. difficile is a major pathogen affecting adult horses and foals alike, emphasising the complexity of the pathogen’s epidemiology.
  • The bacteria could be found quite commonly and transiently while clustering within a facility, despite the absence of identifiable disease occurrences or clusters.

Cite This Article

APA
Weese JS, Slovis N, Rousseau J. (2021). Clostridioides (Clostridium) difficile in neonatal foals and mares at a referral hospital. J Vet Intern Med, 35(2), 1140-1146. https://doi.org/10.1111/jvim.16094

Publication

Journal of veterinary internal medicine
ISSN: 1939-1676
NlmUniqueID: 8708660
Country: United States
Language: English
Volume: 35
Issue: 2
Pages: 1140-1146

Researcher Affiliations

Weese, Jeffrey Scott
  • Department of Pathobiology, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
Slovis, Nathan
  • McGee Medical Center, Hagyard Equine Medical Institute, Lexington, Kentucky, USA.
Rousseau, Joyce
  • Department of Pathobiology, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.

MeSH Terms

  • Animals
  • Clostridioides
  • Clostridioides difficile
  • Clostridium
  • Clostridium Infections / epidemiology
  • Clostridium Infections / veterinary
  • Female
  • Horse Diseases / epidemiology
  • Horses
  • Hospitals
  • Referral and Consultation

Grant Funding

  • Equine Guelph

Conflict of Interest Statement

Authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Citations

This article has been cited 5 times.
  1. Hain-Saunders NMR, Knight DR, Bruce M, Byrne D, Riley TV. Genomic Analysis of Clostridioides difficile Recovered from Horses in Western Australia. Microorganisms 2023 Jul 3;11(7).
    doi: 10.3390/microorganisms11071743pubmed: 37512915google scholar: lookup
  2. Thompson K, Taylor J, Mendez D, Chicken C, Carrick J, Durrheim DN. Willingness to adopt personal biosecurity strategies on thoroughbred breeding farms: Findings from a multi-site pilot study in Australia's Hunter Valley. Front Vet Sci 2022;9:1017452.
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  3. Williams NJ, Slovis NM, Browne NS, Troedsson MHT, Giguėre S, Hernandez JA. Enterococcus durans infection and diarrhea in Thoroughbred foals. J Vet Intern Med 2022 Nov;36(6):2224-2229.
    doi: 10.1111/jvim.16568pubmed: 36285839google scholar: lookup
  4. Hain-Saunders NMR, Knight DR, Bruce M, Riley TV. Clostridioides difficile infection and One Health: an equine perspective. Environ Microbiol 2022 Mar;24(3):985-997.
    doi: 10.1111/1462-2920.15898pubmed: 35001483google scholar: lookup
  5. Kabir A, Lamichhane B, Habib T, Adams A, El-Sheikh Ali H, Slovis NM, Troedsson MHT, Helmy YA. Antimicrobial Resistance in Equines: A Growing Threat to Horse Health and Beyond-A Comprehensive Review. Antibiotics (Basel) 2024 Jul 29;13(8).
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