OBJECTIVES: To analyse characteristics of Clostridioides difficile PCR ribotype 176 clinical isolates from Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia with regard to the differences in its epidemiology. METHODS: Antimicrobial susceptibility testing and whole genome sequencing were performed on a selected group of 22 clonally related isolates as determined by multilocus variable-number tandem repeat analysis (n = 509). Heterologous expression and functional analysis of the newly identified methyltransferase were performed. RESULTS: Core genome multilocus sequence typing found 10-37 allele differences. All isolates were resistant to fluoroquinolones (gyrA_p. T82I), aminoglycosides with aac(6')-Ie-aph(2'')-Ia in six isolates. Erythromycin resistance was detected in 21/22 isolates and 15 were also resistant to clindamycin with ermB gene. Fourteen isolates were resistant to rifampicin with rpoB_p. R505K or p. R505K/H502N, and five to imipenem with pbp1_p. P491L and pbp3_p. N537K. PnimBG together with nimB_p. L155I were detected in all isolates but only five were resistant to metronidazole on chocolate agar. The cfrE, vanZ1 and cat-like genes were not associated with linezolid, teicoplanin and chloramphenicol resistance, respectively. The genome comparison identified six transposons carrying antimicrobial resistance genes. The ermB gene was carried by new Tn7808, Tn6189 and Tn6218-like. The aac(6')-Ie-aph(2'')-Ia were carried by Tn6218-like and new Tn7806 together with cfrE gene. New Tn7807 carried a cat-like gene. Tn6110 and new Tn7806 contained an RlmN-type 23S rRNA methyltransferase, designated MrmA, associated with high-level macrolide resistance in isolates without ermB gene. CONCLUSIONS: Multidrug-resistant C. difficile PCR ribotype 176 isolates carry already described and unique transposons. A novel mechanism for erythromycin resistance in C. difficile was identified.

• Klíčová slova
• Clostridioides difficile infection, epidemiology, macrolide resistance methyltransferase, whole genome sequencing,
• MeSH
• antibakteriální látky * farmakologie   MeSH
• bakteriální léková rezistence * MeSH
• bakteriální proteiny genetika   MeSH
• Clostridioides difficile * genetika   účinky léků   izolace a purifikace   klasifikace   MeSH
• genomové ostrovy * MeSH
• klostridiové infekce * mikrobiologie   epidemiologie   MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• methyltransferasy genetika   MeSH
• mikrobiální testy citlivosti MeSH
• mnohočetná bakteriální léková rezistence * genetika   MeSH
• multilokusová sekvenční typizace MeSH
• ribotypizace MeSH
• sekvenování celého genomu MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Česká republika epidemiologie   MeSH
• Polsko epidemiologie   MeSH
• Názvy látek
• antibakteriální látky * MeSH
• bakteriální proteiny MeSH
• methyltransferasy MeSH

AIM: To obtain standardized epidemiological data for Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) in Slovakia. METHODS: Between October and December 2016, 36 hospitals in Slovakia used the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) surveillance protocol. RESULTS: The overall mean CDI incidence density was 2.8 (95% confidence interval 1.9-3.9) cases per 10 000 patient-days. Of 332 CDI cases, 273 (84.9%) were healthcare-associated, 45 (15.1%) were community-associated, and 14 (4.2%) were cases of recurrent CDI. A complicated course of CDI was reported in 14.8% of cases (n=51). CDI outcome data were available for 95.5% of cases (n=317). Of the 35 patients (11.1%) who died, 34 did so within 30 days after their CDI diagnosis. Of the 78 isolates obtained from 12 hospitals, 46 belonged to PCR ribotype 001 (59.0%; 11 hospitals) and 23 belonged to ribotype 176 (29.5%; six hospitals). A total of 73 isolates (93.6%) showed reduced susceptibility to moxifloxacin (ribotypes 001 and 176; p< 0.01). A reduced susceptibility to metronidazole was observed in 13 isolates that subsequently proved to be metronidazole-susceptible when, after thawing, they were retested using the agar dilution method. No reduced susceptibility to vancomycin was found. CONCLUSIONS: These results show the emergence of C. difficile ribotypes 027 and 176 with a predominance of ribotype 001 in Slovakia in 2016. Given that an almost homogeneous reduced susceptibility to moxifloxacin was detected in C. difficile isolates, this stresses the importance of reducing fluoroquinolone prescriptions in Slovak healthcare settings.

• Klíčová slova
• Clostridium difficile infection, Moxifloxacin reduced susceptibility, PCR ribotype 001, PCR ribotype 027, PCR ribotype 176, Surveillance,
• MeSH
• antibakteriální látky farmakologie   MeSH
• Clostridioides difficile klasifikace   účinky léků   genetika   izolace a purifikace   MeSH
• incidence MeSH
• klostridiové infekce epidemiologie   mikrobiologie   MeSH
• kojenec MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mladiství MeSH
• moxifloxacin farmakologie   MeSH
• ribotypizace MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• Check Tag
• kojenec MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mladiství MeSH
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Slovenská republika epidemiologie   MeSH
• Názvy látek
• antibakteriální látky MeSH
• moxifloxacin MeSH

This study aimed to implement a toxigenic culture as an optional third diagnostic step for glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH)-positive and toxin A/B-negative diarrheal stool samples into a diagnostic algorithm for Clostridioides (Clostridium) difficile infection (CDI), and to characterise C. difficile isolates for epidemiological purposes. During the 5-month study, 481 diarrhoeal stool samples from three Slovak hospitals were investigated and 66 non-duplicated GDH-positive stool samples were found. Of them, 36 were also toxin A/B-positive. Twenty-three GDH-positive and toxin A/B-negative stool samples were shown subsequently to be positive following toxigenic culture (TC). Molecular characterisation of C. difficile isolates showed the predominance of PCR ribotype (RT) 001 (n = 37, 56.1%) and the occurrence of RT 176 (n = 3, 4.5%). C. difficile RT 001 isolates clustered to eight clonal complexes (CCs) using multiple-locus variable-number tandem repeats analysis (MLVA). Interestingly, one third of RT 001 isolates clustering in these CCs were cultured from toxin A/B-negative stool samples. Our observations highlight the need of use multiple step diagnostic algorithm in CDI diagnosis in order to detect all CDI cases and to avoid the spread of C. difficile in healthcare settings.

• MeSH
• algoritmy MeSH
• bakteriální proteiny analýza   MeSH
• Clostridioides difficile klasifikace   izolace a purifikace   MeSH
• diagnostické techniky molekulární MeSH
• enterotoxiny analýza   nedostatek   MeSH
• feces mikrobiologie   MeSH
• glutamátdehydrogenasa analýza   MeSH
• klostridiové infekce diagnóza   epidemiologie   mikrobiologie   MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• minisatelitní repetice genetika   MeSH
• molekulární typizace * MeSH
• multilokusová sekvenční typizace MeSH
• nemocnice MeSH
• polymerázová řetězová reakce * MeSH
• průjem diagnóza   epidemiologie   mikrobiologie   MeSH
• ribotypizace metody   MeSH
• shluková analýza MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• multicentrická studie MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Slovenská republika epidemiologie   MeSH
• Názvy látek
• bakteriální proteiny MeSH
• enterotoxiny MeSH
• glutamátdehydrogenasa MeSH