title: Distribution of Clostridium difficile PCR ribotypes and high proportion of 027 and 176 in some hospitals in four South Eastern European countries.
abstract: While Clostridium difficile epidemiology is well documented in many European countries, data are largely missing for South Eastern European region. Here we report the PCR ribotype distribution of 249 C. difficile isolates received for typing from six hospital settings from Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republic of Macedonia and Serbia in time period from 2008 to 2015. Twenty-four PCR ribotypes were detected. The majority of strains from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia belonged to PCR ribotype 027 (65.8%). Other three dominating PCR ribotypes were 176 (18 strains; Croatia), 001/072 (15 strains; all countries) and 014/020 (15 strains; all countries).
authors.affiliation: National Laboratory for Health, Environment and Food, NLZOH, Maribor, Slovenia; University of Maribor, Faculty of Medicine, Maribor, Slovenia. Electronic address: maja.rupnik@nlzoh.si.
authors.forename: Maja
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rupnik
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Microbiology, University Hospital for Infectious Diseases, Zagreb, Croatia.
authors.forename: Arjana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tambic Andrasevic
authors.affiliation: Institute for Microbiology and Parasitology, Medical Faculty, Skopje, R. Macedonia.
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Trajkovska Dokic
authors.affiliation: Institute for Public Health, Zadar, Croatia.
authors.forename: Ivanka
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Matas
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Clinical Center of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia.
authors.forename: Milica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jovanovic
authors.affiliation: Jasika, Zagreb, Croatia.
authors.forename: Selma
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pasic
authors.affiliation: University of Maribor, Faculty of Medicine, Maribor, Slovenia.
authors.forename: Aleksander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kocuvan
authors.affiliation: National Laboratory for Health, Environment and Food, NLZOH, Maribor, Slovenia; University of Maribor, Faculty of Medicine, Maribor, Slovenia.
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Janezic
mesh_terms: D016360:Clostridioides difficile / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D004761:Enterocolitis, Pseudomembranous / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D005061:Europe, Eastern / Q000453:epidemiology; D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D021521:Ribotyping
keywords: Clostridium difficile; Endemic ribotypes; Outbreak; Ribotype 027; Ribotype 176