Isolation of Clostridium perfringens type D from antibioticassociateddiarrhoeal patients in Kerman hospitals of Iran

Background and Aim : Clostridium perfringens (C. perfringens) may induce severe diseases inhumans such as gas gangrene, necrotic enteritis, food poisoning, antibiotic-associated diarrhea(AAD), and sporadic diarrhea (SD). C. perfringens type F causes ۱۵% of all AAD/SD cases, andthe association of the other C. perfringens types with these diseases was not reported. In this study,the incidence of C. perfringens-associated diarrhoea was investigated in hospitalized patients inthe hospitals of Kerman, Iran.Methods : A total of ۱۵۱ stool specimens from AAD/SD patients were bacteriologicallyinvestigated for C. perfringens, and the isolates were analyzed for C. perfringens toxin genes (cpa,cpb, etx, iap, and cpe) by PCR.Results : C. perfringens isolation ratio was ۲۸.۵% (۴۳ of ۱۵۱ patients) after the bacteriologicaland molecular examinations, which was significant among different hospitals (p<۰.۰۱). A total of۱۱۴ C. perfringens isolates were obtained from stool specimens. Based on the gene profiles, ۳۵(۳۰.۷%), ۶۴ (۵۶.۱%), and ۱۵ (۱۳.۲%) isolates belonged to types A, F, and D, respectively, and theother C. perfringens types were not detected.Conclusion : C. perfringens-associated AAD is an important gastrointestinal disease in thenosocomial patient that has been frequently attributed to type F. In this study, the prevalence ofAAD was determined in hospitalized patients in the Kerman province of Iran and C. perfringenstype D were identified in humans for the first time while humans are not natural hosts for this type.The epidemiology of C. perfringens-associated AAD in long-term hospitalized patients werediscussed.

کلیدواژه ها:

Clostridium perfringens ، Type D ، Antibiotic-associated diarrhoea ، Hospital ، Kerman ، Iran