Asymptomatic carriers of clostridium difficile in serbian population

The aim of the research was to determine the intestinal carriers of C. difficile in different human population groups in Serbia. The research enrolled 877 persons with formed stools: (newborn children in maternity hospitals for up to two weeks old) (23), group A; children aged from two weeks to two years (121), group B; children aged two to 10 years (54), group C, healthy individuals aged 10 and over (516), group D; patients hospitalized for at least 48 hours (100), group E; staff of the Clinical Center in Nis, Serbia, (63), group F. The toxins A and B of C. difficile were detected by ELISA-ridascreen Clostridium difficile Toxin A/B (R - Biopharm AG, Darmstadt, Germany). The toxin A of C. difficile was detected using ColorPAC Toxin A test (BectonDickinson, New Jersey, USA). Out of the total number of persons (877), the carriers of certain types of toxin-producing strains of C. difficile were distributed as: 6.04% (A-/B-), 1.83% (A+/B+) and 0.11% (A-/B+). In most groups (5/6), the dominance of non-toxigenic (A-/B-) isolates was established, with the rate of carriers 1.75 - 30.43% depending on the group. Toxigenic isolates were prevalent only in the group F in relation to non - toxigenic (7.94% versus 4.76% of persons). In other groups, the carriers of toxigenic strains ranged from 0.00 - 17.45%. The presence of asymptomatic intestinal carriers of C. difficile in the human population, indicate the possible reservoirs and sources of infection.