1887

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Volume 67, Issue 5

shows no trade-off between toxin and spore production within the human host Free

Abstract

This study aimed to describe the correlation between spore and toxin levels within the human host. In addition, we assessed whether overgrowth of modified this association.

We measured toxin, spore and levels among 200 successively collected stool samples that tested positive for , and PCR ribotyped these isolates. Analysis of variance and linear regression were used to test the association between spore and toxin levels. Kruskal–Wallis tests and -tests were used to compare the association between spore or toxin levels and host, specimen, or pathogen characteristics.

toxin and spore levels were positively associated (<0.001); this association did not vary significantly with overgrowth [≥5 logs of colony-forming units (c.f.u.) g]. However, ribotypes 027 and 078–126 were significantly associated with higher levels of toxin and spores, and overgrowth.

The strong positive association observed between levels of toxin and spores suggests that patients with more severe infections may have increased spore production, enhancing transmission. Although, on average, spore levels were higher in toxin-positive samples than in toxin-negative/PCR-positive samples, spores were found in almost all toxin-negative samples. The ubiquity of spore production among toxin-negative and formed stool samples emphasizes the importance of following infection prevention and control measures for all -positive patients during their entire hospital stay.

  • Received:
  • Accepted:
  • Published Online:
Keyword(s): Clostridium difficile infection , spores and toxin
© 2018 The Authors
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2018-05-01
2024-04-19
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Clostridium difficile shows no trade-off between toxin and spore production within the human host
J. Med. Microbiol. 67, 631 (2018); https://doi.org/10.1099/jmm.0.000719
/content/journal/jmm/10.1099/jmm.0.000719
/content/journal/jmm/10.1099/jmm.0.000719
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