Clostridium difficile PCR ribotype 176 in the Czech Republic and Poland.

摘要

A hospital-based survey of Clostridium difficile infection in Europe (Jan 1, p 63) revealed a low prevalence (5%) of the highly virulent PCR ribotype 027. This type has not been found in the Czech Republic but was found in Poland in two hospitals in 2005 and 2007. After completion of the European survey in the Czech Republic, outbreaks of C difficile infection suspected as being of type 027 were found in some areas of the country (eastern Bohemia and Moravia). Detailed analysis of ten isolates showed that the strains belonged to PCR ribotype 176 but shared many similarities with PCR ribotype 027, including the presence of binary toxin genes and a single-base-pair deletion at nucleotide 117 within the gene encoding a negative regulator of toxin production. In Poland, PCR ribotype 176 was detected during two outbreaks in hospitals in the region of Mazovia in late 2008 and early 2009.