Clostridioides difficile in calves, cattle and humans from Dutch dairy farms: Predominance of PCR ribotype 695 (clade 5, sequence type 11) in cattle
Tryntsje Cuperus,
Ben Wit,
Greetje Castelijn,
Paul Hengeveld,
Marieke Opsteegh,
Joke van der Giessen,
Céline Harmanus,
Joffrey van Prehn,
Ed J. Kuijper,
Wiep Klaas Smits
Affiliations
Tryntsje Cuperus
Centre for Infectious Disease Control, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, the Netherlands; Corresponding author.
Ben Wit
Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA), Utrecht, the Netherlands
Greetje Castelijn
Wageningen Food Safety Research (WFSR), Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, the Netherlands
Paul Hengeveld
Centre for Infectious Disease Control, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, the Netherlands
Marieke Opsteegh
Centre for Infectious Disease Control, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, the Netherlands
Joke van der Giessen
Centre for Infectious Disease Control, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, the Netherlands
Céline Harmanus
Leiden University Center for Infectious Diseases (LUCID), Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), Leiden, the Netherlands
Joffrey van Prehn
Leiden University Center for Infectious Diseases (LUCID), Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), Leiden, the Netherlands; National Expertise Centre for Clostridiodes difficile infections at Leiden University Center for Infectious Diseases (LUCID), Leiden University Medical Centre (LUMC), Leiden, the Netherlands and Centre for Infectious Disease Control, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, the Netherlands
Ed J. Kuijper
Leiden University Center for Infectious Diseases (LUCID), Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), Leiden, the Netherlands; National Expertise Centre for Clostridiodes difficile infections at Leiden University Center for Infectious Diseases (LUCID), Leiden University Medical Centre (LUMC), Leiden, the Netherlands and Centre for Infectious Disease Control, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, the Netherlands
Wiep Klaas Smits
Leiden University Center for Infectious Diseases (LUCID), Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), Leiden, the Netherlands; National Expertise Centre for Clostridiodes difficile infections at Leiden University Center for Infectious Diseases (LUCID), Leiden University Medical Centre (LUMC), Leiden, the Netherlands and Centre for Infectious Disease Control, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, the Netherlands
Background: Clostridioides difficile is a leading cause of infectious diarrhea in both humans and livestock. In particular, C. difficile strains belonging to sequence type (ST) 11 are common enteropathogens. The aim of this study was to determine the presence and genetic relatedness of C. difficile types in dairy cattle and calves. Method: Dutch dairy farms were visited between February and December 2021. Feces was collected from adult dairy cattle and calves of two age categories (10.000 patient isolates), RT695 was found in only two patients with hospital-onset CDI, diagnosed in 2020 and 2021. Sequence analysis of 21C. difficile RT695 from cattle revealed that all isolates belonged to clade 5, ST11 and contained genes encoding toxin A, toxin B and binary toxin. RT695 strains carried antimicrobial resistance genes typically found in clade 5C. difficile. Groups of genetically related RT695 isolates were found between dairy farms, whereas identical strains were only present in individual farms. Conclusions: C. difficile was found in ∼20% of dairy farms with a predominance of the relatively unknown RT695. Isolates of RT695 belonged to the same clade and sequence type as RT078/126, which is recognized as an important zoonotic type.
