title: Typhlocolitis associated with Clostridium difficile ribotypes 078 and 110 in neonatal piglets from a commercial Irish pig herd.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Clostridium difficile is a recognised cause of typhlocolitis and diarrhoea in neonatal pigs but has never been confirmed in association with pathology and disease in Irish pigs.
  
  
  METHODS
  Four neonatal piglets, with a history of diarrhoea were referred to the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory, Backweston for necropsy. They were from a fully integrated, commercial pig farm with approximately 1000 sows. Three piglets had acute, superficial, erosive and suppurative typhlocolitis and the other had mild suppurative mesocolitis. Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) toxins A/B were detected using ELISA in the colonic contents from each piglet. C. difficile isolates from two of the piglets were PCR-ribotyped as 078 and an isolate from a third pig was ribotyped as 110.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This is the first report confirming C. difficile in association with typhlocolitis in Irish pigs.
authors.affiliation: Pathology Division, Central Veterinary Research Laboratory, Backweston Campus, Celbridge, Co. Kildare Ireland.
authors.forename: Máire C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: McElroy
authors.affiliation: Pathology Division, Central Veterinary Research Laboratory, Backweston Campus, Celbridge, Co. Kildare Ireland.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hill
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Microbiology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
authors.forename: Geraldine
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Moloney
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Microbiology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
authors.forename: Micheál
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mac Aogáin
authors.affiliation: Pathology Division, Central Veterinary Research Laboratory, Backweston Campus, Celbridge, Co. Kildare Ireland.
authors.forename: Shane
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: McGettrick
authors.affiliation: Pathology Division, Central Veterinary Research Laboratory, Backweston Campus, Celbridge, Co. Kildare Ireland.
authors.forename: Áine
authors.initials: Á
authors.lastname: O'Doherty
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Microbiology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
authors.forename: Thomas R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Rogers
keywords: Clostridium difficile; PCR ribotyping; Pigs; Typhlocolitis