Prevalence, genetic characteristics, and antimicrobial resistance of Clostridioides difficile isolates from horses in Korea.
Abstract: Clostridioides difficile is an etiological agent of enteric diseases in humans and animals. Animals are considered a potential reservoir due to the genetic and antimicrobial resistance similarities between human and animal C. difficile isolates. In this study, we evaluated the genetic characteristics and antimicrobial resistance profiles of C. difficile isolated from 942 fecal samples collected from horses in South Korea during 2019-2020. Methods: The C. difficile isolates were tested for toxin genes including tcdA (A), tcdB (B), and cdtAB (CDT) and deletions of the tcdC gene by PCR. In addition, ribotyping, multilocus sequence typing, and antimicrobial susceptibility tests were performed. Results: Twenty-three (2.4%) C. difficile isolates were associated with diarrhea in foals under 1 year old during the spring-summer period. Of these, 82.6% were toxigenic strains, determined to be A+B+CDT+ (52.1%) or A+B+CDT‒ (30.4%). All isolates were susceptible to metronidazole and vancomycin, and resistant to cefotaxime and gentamicin, and 76.2% were multidrug resistant (MDR). RT078/ST11/Clade 5 was the most common genotype (47.8%), which was also found in animals and humans worldwide. All RT078/ST11/Clade 5 strains were toxigenic and had deletions of the tcdC gene. About half of these strains were resistant to moxifloxacin, and 63.6% were MDR. Conclusions: C. difficile isolates in this study consisted mostly of toxigenic and MDR strains, and their genetic properties were highly similar to human C. difficile isolates. These results suggest high possibilities of zoonotic transmission and can provide knowledge for establishing strategies for the treatment and prevention of C. difficile infection.
Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Publication Date: 2023-01-27 PubMed ID: 36716814DOI: 10.1016/j.anaerobe.2023.102700Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
Summary
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This research article focuses on the prevalence, genetic features, and resistance to antimicrobial drugs shown by Clostridioides difficile bacterium strains found in horses in South Korea. It suggests adverse implications for potential zoonotic transmission and demands strategies to combat the infection.
Objective
This study aims to examine the genetic characteristics and antimicrobial resistance profiles of Clostridioides difficile from horse fecal samples. Involved methods include testing for various toxin genes, multilocus sequence typing, ribotyping, and antimicrobial susceptibility tests.
Results and Findings
- Out of 942 samples, 23 contained C. difficile strains associated with diarrhea in young foals. Majority of these were toxigenic (capable of producing toxins).
- The isolates showed susceptibility to commonly used antibiotics, metronidazole and vancomycin. In contrast, they showed resistance to cefotaxime and gentamicin, with most of them being classified as multidrug resistant (MDR).
- The study identified the most common genotype to be RT078/ST11/Clade 5. This genotype is found in both humans and animals worldwide, and strains of this genotype showed toxigenicity and deletions of the tcdC gene.
- A significant proportion (63.6%) of the most common genotype strains were also identified as MDR.
Conclusions and Implications
- The study points to a significant presence of C. difficile in horses, most of them being toxigenic and multidrug-resistant.
- Similarities in the genetic properties between human and animal C. difficile isolates suggest a high possibility for zoonotic transmissions.
- These findings provide valuable insights for developing strategies regarding the treatment and prevention of C. difficile infections.
Understanding the genetic makeup and resistance patterns of C. difficile is crucial for developing effective treatment strategies and preventive measures against infection. This study adds important knowledge by detailing such characteristics for isolates gleaned from a substantial number of horse samples.
Cite This Article
APA
Lee YR, Lee K, Byun JW, Kim H, So B, Ku BK, Kim HY, Moon BY.
(2023).
Prevalence, genetic characteristics, and antimicrobial resistance of Clostridioides difficile isolates from horses in Korea.
Anaerobe, 80, 102700.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anaerobe.2023.102700 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Animal Disease Diagnostic Division, Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency, Gimcheon, 39660, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: yuran86@korea.kr.
- Animal Disease Diagnostic Division, Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency, Gimcheon, 39660, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: noanoa33@korea.kr.
- Animal Disease Diagnostic Division, Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency, Gimcheon, 39660, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: jaewon8911@korea.kr.
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Research Institute of Bacterial Resistance, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, 03722, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: hjkim12@yuhs.ac.
- Animal Disease Diagnostic Division, Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency, Gimcheon, 39660, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: bjso@korea.kr.
- Animal Disease Diagnostic Division, Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency, Gimcheon, 39660, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: kubk@korea.kr.
- Bacterial Disease Division, Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency, Gimcheon, 39660, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: kimhy@korea.kr.
- Animal Disease Diagnostic Division, Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency, Gimcheon, 39660, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: qiamby@korea.kr.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Anti-Bacterial Agents / pharmacology
- Bacterial Toxins / genetics
- Clostridioides difficile / drug effects
- Clostridioides difficile / genetics
- Clostridium Infections / epidemiology
- Clostridium Infections / microbiology
- Clostridium Infections / veterinary
- Drug Resistance, Bacterial / genetics
- Horses
- Microbial Sensitivity Tests
- Prevalence
- Republic of Korea / epidemiology
- Ribotyping
Conflict of Interest Statement
Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest related to this study.
Citations
This article has been cited 3 times.- Borges AS, Zakia LS, Yu S, Surette MG, Arroyo LG. Isolation of Clostridioides difficile from a Large Animal Veterinary Teaching Hospital Environment. Animals (Basel) 2025 Sep 15;15(18).
- Alexiou S, Diakou A, Kachrimanidou M. The Role of Clostridioides difficile Within the One Health Framework: A Review. Microorganisms 2025 Feb 16;13(2).
- 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).
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