Abstract：
OBJECTIVE: Clostridium perfringens (C. perfringens) is a significant opportunistic pathogen. This study aims to examine the occurrence of C. perfringens in patients with diarrhoea and food poisoning and compare the genetic similarities with strains found in poultry retail markets and poultry farms in the same city (Tai\'an, China).
METHODS: Clostridium perfringens was isolated from 30 human faecal samples and genotyped using multiplex PCR. The antimicrobial susceptibility test was conducted using the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method. Genetic relationships were analysed through Multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) and Phylogenetic analysis.
RESULTS: The positive rate of C. perfringens was found to be 96.67%. Among the positive samples, 91.67% of the faecal samples from patients with food poisoning contained type F strains of C. perfringens, while only 16.67% of the samples from diarrhoea cases contained type F. The drug susceptibility test revealed that the majority of isolates displayed broad-spectrum antimicrobial resistance. Out of the 57 isolates tested for drug susceptibility, 89.47% demonstrated resistance to at least three antibiotics. The MLST results indicated that strains originating from the same host and environment tended to be more closely related. However, certain strains associated with food poisoning and diarrhoea in patients shared the same ST and CC as some strains found in the retail market. These strains were also found to be phylogenetically similar to some retail market strains, suggesting potential risks to human health.
CONCLUSIONS: Therefore, it is crucial to enhance the management of poultry retail markets in order to mitigate these associated risks.
METHODS: Clostridium perfringens was isolated from 30 human faecal samples and genotyped using multiplex PCR. The antimicrobial susceptibility test was conducted using the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method. Genetic relationships were analysed through Multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) and Phylogenetic analysis.
RESULTS: The positive rate of C. perfringens was found to be 96.67%. Among the positive samples, 91.67% of the faecal samples from patients with food poisoning contained type F strains of C. perfringens, while only 16.67% of the samples from diarrhoea cases contained type F. The drug susceptibility test revealed that the majority of isolates displayed broad-spectrum antimicrobial resistance. Out of the 57 isolates tested for drug susceptibility, 89.47% demonstrated resistance to at least three antibiotics. The MLST results indicated that strains originating from the same host and environment tended to be more closely related. However, certain strains associated with food poisoning and diarrhoea in patients shared the same ST and CC as some strains found in the retail market. These strains were also found to be phylogenetically similar to some retail market strains, suggesting potential risks to human health.
CONCLUSIONS: Therefore, it is crucial to enhance the management of poultry retail markets in order to mitigate these associated risks.
摘要：
目标：产气荚膜梭菌（C.产气荚膜）是一种重要的机会性病原体。这项研究旨在检查腹泻和食物中毒患者产气荚膜梭菌的发生，并比较其与同一城市家禽零售市场和家禽养殖场中发现的菌株的遗传相似性（泰安，中国）。
方法：C.从30个人类粪便样品中分离出产气荚膜，并使用多重PCR进行基因分型。使用Kirby-Bauer圆盘扩散法进行抗菌敏感性试验。通过多位点序列分型（MLST）和系统发育分析分析了遗传关系。
结果：产气荚膜梭菌阳性率为96.67%。在阳性样本中，91.67%的食物中毒患者粪便样本中含有产气荚膜梭菌F型菌株，而只有16.67%的腹泻病例样本含有F型。药敏试验显示，大多数分离株表现出广谱抗菌耐药性。在经过药物敏感性测试的57个分离株中，89.47%对至少三种抗生素表现出耐药性。MLST结果表明，来自同一宿主和环境的菌株倾向于更密切相关。然而,与食物中毒和腹泻相关的某些菌株与零售市场中的某些菌株具有相同的ST和CC。还发现这些菌株在系统发育上与某些零售市场菌株相似，提示对人类健康的潜在风险。
结论：因此，加强家禽零售市场的管理以减轻这些相关风险至关重要。
方法：C.从30个人类粪便样品中分离出产气荚膜，并使用多重PCR进行基因分型。使用Kirby-Bauer圆盘扩散法进行抗菌敏感性试验。通过多位点序列分型（MLST）和系统发育分析分析了遗传关系。
结果：产气荚膜梭菌阳性率为96.67%。在阳性样本中，91.67%的食物中毒患者粪便样本中含有产气荚膜梭菌F型菌株，而只有16.67%的腹泻病例样本含有F型。药敏试验显示，大多数分离株表现出广谱抗菌耐药性。在经过药物敏感性测试的57个分离株中，89.47%对至少三种抗生素表现出耐药性。MLST结果表明，来自同一宿主和环境的菌株倾向于更密切相关。然而,与食物中毒和腹泻相关的某些菌株与零售市场中的某些菌株具有相同的ST和CC。还发现这些菌株在系统发育上与某些零售市场菌株相似，提示对人类健康的潜在风险。
结论：因此，加强家禽零售市场的管理以减轻这些相关风险至关重要。
