Open AccessClostridium difficile in ready-to-eat foods in Isfahan and Shahrekord, Iran
Author(s) -
Ebrahim Rahimi,
Zahra Sadat Afzali,
Zeinab Torki Baghbadorani
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
asian pacific journal of tropical biomedicine/asian pacific journal of tropical biomedicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.507
H-Index - 61
eISSN - 2588-9222
pISSN - 2221-1691
DOI - 10.1016/s2221-1691(15)30156-8
Subject(s) - clostridium difficile , clostridium difficile toxin a , microbiology and biotechnology , metronidazole , toxin , medicine , vancomycin , food poisoning , antimicrobial , biology , food science , antibiotics , staphylococcus aureus , bacteria , genetics
Objective:To determine the prevalence and antimicrobial resistance of Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) isolated from ready-to-eat foods of Iran.Methods:From January to August 2013, a total of 368 unpacked ready-to-eat food samples were purchased from randomly selected supermarkets, retail stores and restaurants located in Isfahan and Shahrekord, Iran and were evaluated for the presence of C. difficile.Results:C. difficile spores were detected in 5 (1.36%) of the 368 samples. The highest prevalence of C. difficile was found in fasl salad (4.29%), followed by yogurt stew (2%), and olovyeh salad (0.93%). All 140 maccaroni salad and falafel sandwich samples were negative for C. difficile. One of the five C. difficile isolates (20%) contained tcdA, tcdB and cdtB toxin genes and four strains (80%) contained tcdA, and tcdB toxin genes. Also, among the five C. difficile isolates, only three strains were found to be toxigenic for toxin A and/or B by ELISA. Isolates were susceptible to vancomycin and metronidazole, but variably resistant to other antimicrobial drugs.Conclusions:This study, combined with studies on other food sources, suggests that widespread contamination of food is common