Epidemiology of Clostridium difficile in infants in Oxfordshire, UK: Risk factors for colonization and carriage, and genetic overlap with regional C. difficile infection strains.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Approximately 30-40% of children <1 year of age are Clostridium difficile colonized, and may represent a reservoir for adult C. difficile infections (CDI). Risk factors for colonization with toxigenic versus non-toxigenic C. difficile strains and longitudinal acquisition dynamics in infants remain incompletely characterized.

Methods

Predominantly healthy infants (≤2 years) were recruited in Oxfordshire, UK, and provided ≥1 fecal samples. Independent risk factors for toxigenic/non-toxigenic C. difficile colonization and acquisition were identified using multivariable regression. Infant C. difficile isolates were whole-genome sequenced to assay genetic diversity and prevalence of toxin-associated genes, and compared with sequenced strains from Oxfordshire CDI cases.

SUBMITTER: Stoesser N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5559064 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature