Examination of Clostridium difficile Contamination in beef meat distributed in Isfahan using culture and Multiplex-PCR method

Introduction: With regard to increasing of community associated Clostridium difficile infection in recent years, the probable transmission of Clostridium difficile from food to human was supposed. Most of reports on this issue were allocated to examine the prevalence of Clostridium difficile in red meat. The current study aimed at examination of the prevalence of Clostridium difficile in beef meat. Materials and methods: A total of 100 beef meat samples including 50 chopped and ground for each ones were collected from butcheries in different regions of Isfahan for cultural analysis and biochemical tests. Molecular evaluation of Clostridium difficle was confirmed by multiplex polymerase chain reaction directed on existence of tpi, tcdA and tcdB genes. Chi-square test was performed for descriptive statistics with Pvalue≤ 0.05 in SPSS software. Results: Clostridium difficile was isolated form 12 (12%) of beef meat samples. Among isolated colonies, 2 (4%) and 10 (20%) were belonged to chopped and ground beef meat, respectively. All colonies contained all genes. The significant difference was observed within the type of meat and Clostridium difficile prevalence (Pvalue=0.01). Discussion and conclusion: The results of the present study showed the higher incidence of Clostridium difficile in ground meat than chopped ones. It seems that the formation of biofilm in meat grinder was the reason of higher rate of contamination. Furthermore, the consumption of beef meat as a source for Clostridium difficile might transmit the organism to human.