title: Gastrointestinal carriage of Clostridium difficile in cats and dogs attending veterinary clinics.
abstract: Cats and dogs being treated at two veterinary clinics were investigated for gastrointestinal carriage of Clostridium difficile using selective solid and enrichment media. Thirty-two (39.5%) of 81 stool samples yielded C. difficile. There were significant differences in isolation rates between clinics, 61.0% of animals being positive at one clinic compared to 17.5% at the other (Chi-square, P less than 0.005). Of 29 animals receiving antibiotics, 15 (52.0%) harboured C. difficile while 11 (23.9%) of 46 animals not receiving antibiotics were positive (Chi-square, P less than 0.01). There was no difference in carriage rate between cats (38.1%) and dogs (40.0%). The environment at both veterinary clinics was surveyed for the presence of C. difficile. Fifteen of 20 sites at one clinic were positive compared to 6 of 14 sites at the other clinic. Both cytotoxigenic and noncytotoxigenic isolates of C. difficile were recovered from animals and environmental sites. These findings suggest that household pets may be a potentially significant reservoir of infection with C. difficile.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, University of Western Australia, Nedlands.
authors.forename: T V
authors.initials: TV
authors.lastname: Riley
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Adams
authors.forename: G L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: O'Neill
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Bowman
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002353:Carrier State / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D002371:Cat Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D002415:Cats; D016360:Clostridioides difficile / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D003015:Clostridium Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D003470:Culture Media; D004197:Disease Reservoirs; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D004285:Dogs; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D006762:Hospitals, Animal
chemical_list: D003470:Culture Media