Environmental reservoirs of hypervirulent <i>Clostridioides difficile</i>: RT078 strains in wastewater and first detection of RT027 in shellfish in Taiwan.

ABSTRACT: Clostridioides difficile infection is a global health concern, with increasing community-associated cases. Environmental sources may contribute to transmission. This study assessed hypervirulent C. difficile in wastewater and shellfish in southern Taiwan. From April to September 2020, water samples were collected from two domestic wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), one hospital WWTP, and shellfish from an aquafarm in Tainan City. C. difficile isolates underwent molecular identification, toxin gene detection, ribotyping, antimicrobial susceptibility, and multi-locus variable-number tandem repeat analysis (MLVA). Ninety-seven C. difficile isolates representing 24 ribotypes were classified into 29 distinct strains-4, 13, and 12 from domestic WWTPs, hospital WWTP,

SUBMITTER: Yang T-W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12671137 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature