Our aim was to obtain a more complete overview of C difficile infection in Europe. We set up a network of 106 laboratories and in one month period strains and clinical data were collected. The incidence of C difficile infection varied across hospitals (weighted mean 4,1 per 10 000 patient-days per hospital, range 0,0-36 3). 65 different PCR ribotypes were identified, of which 014/020 (61 patients [16%]), 001 (37 [9%]), and 078 (31 [8%]) were the most prevalent. The prevalence of PCR-ribotype 027 was 5%. Funding: European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.
COBISS.SI-ID: 512101432
Comparative genome analysis of 14 sequenced genomes, including those of a subset of 027/NAP1 isolates, allowed the assessment of genetic diversity within and between strain types to identify DNA markers that are associated with severe disease. Candidate SNPs in genes CD1269 and CD1265 were found to associate more closely with disease severity than currently used diagnostic markers, as they were also present in the toxinA-negative and B-positive (A-B+) strain types.
COBISS.SI-ID: 512129080
Two commercial real-time PCR assays for the detection of Clostridium difficile, BD GeneOhm Cdiff assay (BD Diagnostics) and Xpert C. difficile assay (Cepheid), were compared to each other and to toxigenic culture, which was used as a gold standard, on a set of 194 clinical stools submitted for routine diagnostic analysis.
COBISS.SI-ID: 512129592