With rates of community‐associated Clostridium difficile infection (CA‐CDI) increasing worldwide, potential reservoirs/sources of C. difficile in the community are being sought. Since C. difficile is found in animal manure and human biosolids, which are composted for agricultural purposes, composted products could be a source. In this study, the presence of C. difficile in composted products, and their genetic relatedness to other previously isolated strains from humans, root vegetables and the environment in Western Australia, was investigated. Overall, C. difficile was found in 22.5% (16/71) of composted products [29.7% (11/37) of soil conditioners, 16.7% (2/12) of mulches and 13.6% (3/22) of garden mixes]. Fifteen C. difficile PCR ribotypes (RTs) were identified, the most common toxigenic strains being RTs 020 and 056. Clostridium difficile RT 056 is commonly associated with CDI in humans and has also been isolated from cattle, root vegetables and the environment (veterinary clinics and lawn) in Australia. High‐resolution core‐genome analysis of 29 C. difficile RT 056 strains revealed clonal relationships between isolates derived from humans, vegetables, composted products and the environment. These findings provide support for an intricate transmission network between human, food and the environment, further highlighting the importance of a ‘One Health’ approach for managing CDI.

中文翻译：

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土壤改良剂，覆盖物和花园混合物中的艰难梭菌具有与历史食物和临床分离株的克隆关系的证据

随着世界范围内与社区相关的艰难梭菌感染率（CA-CDI）的增加，正在寻找社区中艰难梭菌的潜在储库/来源。由于艰难梭菌存在于动物肥料和人类生物固体中，这些肥料经堆肥用于农业目的，因此堆肥产品可能是其中的来源。在这项研究中，调查了堆肥产品中艰难梭菌的存在及其与西澳大利亚人，根菜类和环境中其他先前分离的菌株的遗传相关性。总体而言，艰难梭菌在堆肥产品中占22.5％（16/71）[土壤改良剂占29.7％（11/37），覆盖物占16.7％（2/12）和花园混合物占13.6％（3/22）]。鉴定了15种艰难梭菌PCR核型（RTs），最常见的产毒菌株是RTs 020和056。艰难梭菌RT 056在人类中通常与CDI有关，并且也从牛，根菜类和环境中分离出来（兽医诊所）和草坪）在澳大利亚。艰难梭菌的高分辨率核心基因组分析RT 056菌株揭示了人类，蔬菜，堆肥产品和环境中分离株之间的克隆关系。这些发现为人类，食物与环境之间复杂的传播网络提供了支持，进一步强调了“单一健康”方法对CDI管理的重要性。