Clostridium difficile in Retail Meat Products, USA, 2007

Authors

• J. Glenn Songer, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA
• Hien T. Trinh, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA
• George E. Killgore, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
• Angela D. Thompson, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
• L. Clifford McDonald, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
• Brandi M. Limbago, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Date of this Version

5-2009

Comments

Published in Emerging Infectious Diseases Vol. 15, No. 5, May 2009.

Abstract

To determine the presence of Clostridium difficile, we sampled cooked and uncooked meat products sold in Tucson, Arizona. Forty-two percent contained toxigenic C. difficile strains (either ribotype 078/toxinotype V [73%] or 027/ toxinotype III [NAP1 or NAP1-related; 27%]). These findings indicate that food products may play a role in interspecies C. difficile transmission.