Clostridium difficile in faeces from healthy dogs and dogs with diarrhea
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Updated: May 13, 2026

Cefoperazone-treated Mouse Model of Clinically-relevant Clostridium difficile Strain R20291
Published on: December 10, 2016
Karl-Johan Wetterwik1, Gunilla Trowald-Wigh, Lise-Lotte Fernström
1Department of Biomedical Sciences and Veterinary Public Health, Division of Bacteriology and Food Safety, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, P,O, Box 7028, Uppsala, SE-750 07, Sweden.
Background:
This study was conducted to evaluate the faecal occurrence and characterization of Clostridium difficile in clinically healthy dogs (N = 50) and in dogs with diarrhea (N = 20) in the Stockholm-Uppsala region of Sweden.
Findings:
Clostridium difficile was isolated from 2/50 healthy dogs and from 2/20 diarrheic dogs. Isolates from healthy dogs were negative for toxin A and B and for the tcdA and tcdB genes. Both isolates from diarrheic dogs were positive for toxin B and for the tcdA and tcdB genes. The C. difficile isolates from healthy dogs had PCR ribotype 009 (SE-type 6) and 010 (SE-type 3) whereas both isolates from dogs with diarrhoea had the toxigenic ribotype 014 (SE-type 21). One of the isolates from healthy dogs was initially resistant to metronidazole.
Conclusions:
This study revealed presence of toxigenic C. difficile in faecal samples of diarrheic dogs and low number of non- toxigenic isolates in healthy dogs from Uppsala-Stockholm region in Sweden. However, more comprehensive studies are warranted to investigate the role of C. difficile in gastrointestinal disease in dogs.
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