Contamination of home-grown and retail vegetables with Clostridioidesdifficile

Anissa D Scholtzek; Janine Heise; Pascal Witt; Anna Maria Hanuschik; Sven Maurischat

doi:10.1016/j.anaerobe.2021.102512

Contamination of home-grown and retail vegetables with Clostridioidesdifficile

Anaerobe. 2022 Apr:74:102512. doi: 10.1016/j.anaerobe.2021.102512. Epub 2022 Jan 3.

Authors

Anissa D Scholtzek¹, Janine Heise¹, Pascal Witt¹, Anna Maria Hanuschik¹, Sven Maurischat²

Affiliations

¹ German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, Department Biological Safety, Max-Dohrn-Str. 8-10, 10589, Berlin, Germany.
² German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, Department Biological Safety, Max-Dohrn-Str. 8-10, 10589, Berlin, Germany. Electronic address: Sven.Maurischat@bfr.bund.de.

PMID: 34990815
DOI: 10.1016/j.anaerobe.2021.102512

Abstract

The opportunistic intestinal pathogen Clostridioides difficile is the number one cause of nosocomial diarrhea in humans. In this study, C. difficile was isolated from 26.7% of potatoes and 1.9% of salads from German retail. The majority of strains possessed toxinogenic PCR-ribotypes that are associated with human clinical cases pointing towards a potential risk to human health.

Keywords: Antimicrobial resistance; C. difficile; Food safety; Potatoes; Ready-to-eat salads.

MeSH terms

Clostridioides
Clostridioides difficile* / genetics
Humans
Polymerase Chain Reaction
Ribotyping
Vegetables*