ArticlePloS one2018
The zoonotic potential of Clostridium difficile from small companion animals and their owners.
Article in PloS one, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 39 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
39 citing papers in PubMed, 74 citations in OpenAlex.
- Variety ofGerms · 2026Article
- Clostridioides difficile Infection in Animals.Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.) · 2026Article
- Colanic acid-mediated phage resistance enhances virulence in high-risk global clone Escherichia coli ST410.PLoS pathogens · 2025Article
- Article
- Community-AcquiredInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- The Role ofMicroorganisms · 2025Review
- Heterogeneity of Clostridioides difficile asymptomatic colonization prevalence: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Gut pathogens · 2025Article
- Bacterial Contamination of Environmental Surfaces of Veterinary Rehabilitation Clinics.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2024Article
- Comprehensive profile of the companion animal gut microbiome integrating reference-based and reference-free methods.The ISME journal · 2024Article
- Non-human Clostridioides difficile Reservoirs and Sources: Animals, Food, Environment.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2024Article
- Article
- Clostridioides difficile Infection in Children: Recent Updates on Epidemiology, Diagnosis, Therapy.Pediatrics · 2023Review
- Update on Commonly Used Molecular Typing Methods forMicroorganisms · 2023Review
- Infrequent intrahousehold transmission of Clostridioides difficile between pet owners and their pets.Zoonoses and public health · 2023Article
- A local-scale One Health genomic surveillance ofMicrobial genomics · 2023Article
- Fecal Microbial Diversity of Coyotes and Wild Hogs in Texas Panhandle, USA.Microorganisms · 2023Article
- Article
- High Prevalence ofPathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Carriage of Extended Spectrum Beta Lactamase-ProducingAnimals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2023Article
- Detection and Genomic Characterisation ofPathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundClostridium difficile infections (CDI) in humans range from asymptomatic carriage to life-threatening intestinal disease. Findings on C. difficile in various animal species and an overlap in ribotypes (RTs) suggest potential zoonotic transmission. However, the impact of animals for human CDI remains unclear.
methodsIn a large-scale survey we collected 1,447 fecal samples to determine the occurrence of C. difficile in small companion animals (dogs and cats) and their owners and to assess potential epidemiological links within the community. The Germany-wide survey was conducted from July 2012-August 2013. PCR ribotyping, Multilocus VNTR Analysis (MLVA) and PCR detection of toxin genes were used to characterize isolated C. difficile strains. A database was defined and logistic regression used to identify putative factors associated with fecal shedding of C. difficile.
resultsIn total, 1,418 samples met the inclusion criteria. The isolation rates for small companion animals and their owners within the community were similarly low with 3.0% (25/840) and 2.9% (17/578), respectively. PCR ribotyping revealed eight and twelve different RTs in animals and humans, respectively, whereas three RTs were isolated in both, humans and animals. RT 014/0, a well-known human hospital-associated lineage, was predominantly detected in animal samples. Moreover, the potentially highly pathogenic RTs 027 and 078 were isolated from dogs. Even though, C. difficile did not occur simultaneously in animals and humans sharing the same household. The results of the epidemiological analysis of factors associated with fecal shedding of C. difficile support the hypothesis of a zoonotic potential.
conclusionsMolecular characterization and epidemiological analysis revealed that the zoonotic risk for C. difficile associated with dogs and cats within the community is low but cannot be excluded.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.