The vicinity of small apiaries to the farms makes honey and bee pollen prone to the contamination with clostridial spores. The possible presence of Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) spores in bee products may pose a risk especially to elderly who perceive them as natural remedies in health problems including functional bowel abnormalities. The aim of the study was to evaluate the prevalence of C. difficile spores in 120 samples of honey and 44 samples of bee pollen harvested in Northeastern Europe. All incubation procedures were performed in anaerobic conditions. The 10 g samples were subsequently pre-enriched in Cooked Meat Medium (CMM) and Brain Heart Infusion-supplement (BHIS) broths. Sporulated forms were seeded on supplemented C. difficile blood agar. Rapid immunoenzymatic tests targeted at glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) detection and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeted at tpi gene detection were also performed. Based on microbiological culture 32 (20%) out of 164 samples were selected for culture on blood agar. The growth of ground-glass colonies was noted towards 13 (8%) samples. The presence of C. difficile was not confirmed by immunoenzymatic rapid tests towards any sample selected. Neither PCR assay targeted to tpi gene showed positive samples. This is the first report reviewing the possibility of native to Europe Apis mellifera (A. mellifera) bee products contamination with C. difficile. The samples of A. mellifera bee products produced in small apiaries in Northeastern Europe did not show the presence of C. difficile spores.

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蜂产品中的艰难梭菌：评估细菌的传播

靠近农场的小型养蜂场使蜂蜜和蜂花粉容易受到梭菌孢子的污染。蜂产品中可能存在艰难梭菌 (C. difficile) 孢子可能会带来风险，尤其是对老年人而言，他们认为它们是解决健康问题（包括功能性肠道异常）的自然疗法。该研究的目的是评估在东北欧收获的 120 份蜂蜜样品和 44 份蜂花粉样品中艰难梭菌孢子的流行情况。所有孵育程序均在厌氧条件下进行。随后将 10 g 样品在熟肉培养基 (CMM) 和脑心浸液补充剂 (BHIS) 肉汤中进行预浓缩。孢子化形式接种在补充的艰难梭菌血琼脂上。还进行了针对谷氨酸脱氢酶 (GDH) 检测的快速免疫酶测试和针对 tpi 基因检测的聚合酶链反应 (PCR)。基于微生物培养，从 164 个样品中选择 32 个 (20%) 用于血琼脂培养。在 13 (8%) 个样品中注意到毛玻璃菌落的生长。艰难梭菌的存在未通过针对任何选定样品的免疫酶快速测试得到证实。靶向 tpi 基因的 PCR 检测均未显示阳性样品。这是第一份审查欧洲本土蜜蜂 (A. mellifera) 蜂产品被艰难梭菌污染的可能性的报告。东北欧小型养蜂场生产的 A. mellifera 蜂产品样品未显示艰难梭菌孢子的存在。