HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via CrossRef Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Rotimi, V. O. Articles by Duerden, B. I. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Rotimi, V. O. Articles by Duerden, B. I. Agricola Articles by Rotimi, V. O. Articles by Duerden, B. I.

Prevalent PCR ribotypes of clinical and environmental strains of Clostridium difficile isolated from intensive-therapy unit patients in Kuwait

¹Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University/Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital, Kuwait ²PHLS Anaerobe Reference Unit, Department of Medical Microbiology and PHLS, University of Wales College of Medicine, Cardiff, UK ³Department of Microbiology, Amiri Hospital, Kuwait

Correspondence V. O. Rotimi Vincent{at}hsc.kuniv.edu.kw

Received February 3, 2003
Accepted April 4, 2003

Ninety-five isolates of Clostridium difficile from symptomatic and asymptomatic patients and 18 from their environment in the intensive-therapy units (ITUs) of four teaching hospitals in Kuwait were typed by PCR amplification of rRNA intergenic spacer regions (PCR ribotyping). A total of 32 different ribotypes was detected among the clinical isolates. The predominant ribotypes from the clinical isolates were types 097 and 078, which accounted for 40 % of all isolates in the ITUs in Kuwait. Ribotypes 097 (toxigenic), 078 (toxigenic) and 039 (non-toxigenic) were three distinct clones that were circulating in all four hospitals. Ribotypes 097, 078 and 076 (i.e. 50 % of isolates from symptomatic patients) were the predominant isolates associated with C. difficile-associated disease (CDAD). The environmental isolates belonged to a diverse range of ribotypes, with no particular types common to all the hospitals. Ribotype 078 was found only in the patient environment in Mubarak hospital, while ribotype 097 was restricted to Amiri hospital. The hospital environment occupied by symptomatic as well as symptom-free patients was contaminated with C. difficile. Eight new strains that did not match any in the PCR ribotype library established at the PHLS Anaerobe Reference Unit, Cardiff, UK, were assigned ribotypes 105, 125, 128, 129, 131, 134, 140 and 141. These findings show that the isolates associated with CDAD in Kuwait are different from those found in the UK and some other European countries.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				E. Mutlu, A. J. Wroe, K. Sanchez-Hurtado, J. S. Brazier, and I. R. Poxton Molecular characterization and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of Clostridium difficile strains isolated from hospitals in south-east Scotland J. Med. Microbiol., July 1, 2007; 56(7): 921 - 929. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				G. Terhes, J. S. Brazier, E. Urban, J. Soki, and E. Nagy Distribution of Clostridium difficile PCR ribotypes in regions of Hungary. J. Med. Microbiol., March 1, 2006; 55(Pt 3): 279 - 282. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				H. Pituch, J. S. Brazier, P. Obuch-Woszczatynski, D. Wultanska, F. Meisel-Mikolajczyk, and M. Luczak Prevalence and association of PCR ribotypes of Clostridium difficile isolated from symptomatic patients from Warsaw with macrolide-lincosamide-streptogramin B (MLSB) type resistance J. Med. Microbiol., February 1, 2006; 55(2): 207 - 213. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]