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Clostridioides difficile is a causative agent of antibiotic-associated diarrhea as well as pseudomembranous colitis. So far, all known bacteriophages infecting these bacteria are temperate, which means that instead of prompt lysis of host cells, they can integrate into the host genome or replicate episomally. While C. difficile phages are capable of spontaneous induction and entering the lytic pathway, very little is known about the regulation of their maintenance in the state of lysogeny. In this study, we investigated the properties of a putative major repressor of the recently characterized C. difficile phiCDKH01 bacteriophage. A candidate protein belongs to the XRE family and controls the transcription of genes encoding putative phage antirepressors, known to be involved in the regulation of lytic development. Hence, the putative major phage repressor is likely to be responsible for maintenance of the lysogeny.

This paper attempts to determine the role of the hospital environment in the spread of Clostridioides/Clostridium (C.) difficile infections based on a review of studies published in the medical literature and in the light of the authors’ own experiences. Clostridioides/Clostridium difficile has recently attracted more and more attention, not only as an etiological factor of pseudomembranous intestinal inflammation and antibiotic associated diarrhea, but also as an etiologic factor of healthcare-associated infections (HAI) because of the possibility to survive in the hospital environment for a long time. This is caused by the production of spores, whose eradication options are limited. Clostridioides/Clostridium difficile spores are present not only on bedding of infected patients and their other belongings, but also on medical equipment and the hands of medical personnel, constituting a potential source of infection for other patients and some of the staff. The introduction of appropriate procedures for hand hygiene as well as for cleaning and disinfection of hospital surfaces makes it possible to reduce the number of spores and/or eradicate them. These procedures must be strictly followed to reduce the occurrence of spores in the hospital environment and to prevent further spread of C. difficile infections (CDI). Monitoring the presence of the C. difficile spores in a hospital environment using appropriate media (C diff Banana BrothTM) provides additional opportunities for culturing of C. difficile strains and determining ribotypes, especially hyperepidemic ones, which is extremely important from an epidemiological point of view. Med Pr. 2019;70(6):739–45

Clostridioides difficile is an important health care-associated pathogen. The aim of this study was to analyze the antibiotic susceptibility of C. difficile isolates from feces of patients from 13 hospitals in Silesia, Poland. The incidence of CDI per 100.000 people in Silesia in 2018–2019 was higher than the average in Poland (39.3–38.7 vs. 30.2–29.5, respectively). The incidence doubled from 26.4 in 2020 to 55.1 in 2021. Two hundred and thirty stool samples tested positive for GDH (glutamate dehydrogenase) and toxins were cultured anaerobically for C. difficile. The isolates were characterized, typed, and tested for susceptibility to 11 antibiotics by E-test (EUCAST, 2021). The genes of toxins A/B and binary were detected by mPCR. Of 215 isolates, 166 (77.2%) were classified as RT 027 and 6 (2.8%) as related RT 176. Resistance to ciprofloxacin (96.7%), moxifloxacin (79.1%), imipenem (78.1%), penicillin (67%), and rifampicin (40.5%) was found. The ermB gene was detected in 79 (36.7%) strains. Multidrug resistance (MDR) was confirmed in 50 (23.3%) strains of RT 027 (94%). We concluded that a high prevalence of MDR among hypervirulent RT 027/176 C. difficile was found in the Silesian region of Poland, emphasizing the need to enhance regional infection control on CDI and antibiotic stewardships.