Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Clostridium bacteria found in dogs and cats at Madrid vet clinics
By Álvarez-Pérez, Sergio et al.·Published in Anaerobe·2017·Department of Animal Health, Spain·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Prevalence and characteristics of Clostridium perfringens and Clostridium difficile in dogs and cats attended in diverse veterinary clinics from the Madrid region.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study found that 4.8% of dogs and 0% of cats tested positive for Clostridium perfringens and Clostridium difficile, two types of bacteria that can cause gastrointestinal issues. The research involved 105 dogs and 37 cats from various veterinary clinics in Madrid, with some dogs showing both types of bacteria. The presence of these bacteria varied significantly between clinics. For dogs that tested positive, some were found to have multiple strains of the bacteria, indicating a complex infection. If your pet is experiencing diarrhea or other digestive problems, it may be worth discussing these bacteria with your veterinarian.
People also search for: dog diarrhea treatment · Clostridium perfringens in dogs · cat gastrointestinal issues · dog gut bacteria problems
Abstract
Despite extensive research on the epidemiology of pathogenic clostridia in dogs and cats, most published studies focus on a selected animal population and/or a single veterinary medical centre. We assessed the burden of Clostridium perfringens and C. difficile shedding by small animals in 17 veterinary clinics located within the Madrid region (Spain) and differing in size, number and features of animals attended and other relevant characteristics. In addition, we studied the genetic diversity and antibiotic susceptibility of recovered isolates. Selective culture of all fecal specimens collected during a single week from dogs (n = 105) and cats (n = 37) attended in participating clinics yielded C. perfringens/C. difficile from 31%, 4.8% of the dogs, and 20%, 0% of the cats analyzed, respectively, and three dogs yielded both species. Furthermore, 17 animals (15 dogs and two cats) that yielded a positive culture for either species were recruited for a follow-up survey and C. perfringens was again obtained from nine dogs. Considerable differences in prevalence were observed among participating clinics for both clostridial species. C. perfringens isolates (n = 109) belonged to toxinotypes A (97.2%) and E (three isolates from one dog), whereas C. difficile isolates (n = 18) belonged to the toxigenic ribotypes 106 (33.3%) and 154 (16.7%), a 009-like ribotype (33.3%) and an unknown non-toxigenic ribotype (16.7%). Amplified fragment length polymorphism-based fingerprinting classified C. perfringens and C. difficile isolates into 105 and 15 genotypes, respectively, and tested isolates displayed in vitro resistance to benzylpenicillin (2.8%, 88.8%), clindamycin (0%, 16.7%), erythromycin (0.9%, 16.7%), imipenem (1.8%, 100%), levofloxacin (0.9%, 100%), linezolid (5.5%, 0%), metronidazole (4.6%, 0%) and/or tetracycline (7.3%, 0%). All animals from which multiple isolates were retrieved yielded ≥2 different genotypes and/or antimicrobial susceptibility profiles. Future studies should focus on the seasonal and geographical variations of prevalence and diversity patterns of clostridial species in small animals.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28687280/