Detection, characterization and antimicrobial susceptibility of Clostridioides difficile from seafood of Marmara Sea, Turkey.

The objective of this study was to determine the presence of C. difficile in seafood, to identify the ribotype of isolates, to reveal the distribution of their toxinogenic genes and to evaluate the antibiotic susceptibility of C. difficile strains. For this purpose, a total of 755 seafood samples were analysed. Sixteen isolates were verified as C. difficile [14 (5.28%) bivalve molluscs and 2 (2.0%) shrimp] whereas none of the ribotypes detected were human pathogenic ribotypes. Among C. difficile isolates only one of the bivalve mollusc (RT003) was found to be toxigenic (A+B+CDT+) that had also toxin-producing ability. All isolates were sensitive to vancomycin and resistant to cefotaxime. Results of this study indicate that the rate of C. difficile in seafood is much lower than in meat or poultry products. However, consumption of raw or undercooked contaminated bivalve molluscs could be a potential source of C. difficile that may pose a risk to human health.