Iranian Journal of Veterinary Medicine

Iranian Journal of Veterinary Medicine

Prevalence and toxin gene profile of Clostridium difficile isolated from meat and offal samples of different food animals marketed in Shahr-e Kord, Iran

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Articles

Authors
Houshang Taheri Mirghaed 1
Hassan Gandomi 1
Afshin Akhondzadeh Basti 2
Ebrahim Rahimi 3
Ali Khanjari 1
1 Department of Food Hygiene and Quality Control, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
2 1Department of Food Hygiene and Quality Control, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
3 Department of Food Hygiene, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Shahr-e kord Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shahrekord, Iran.
10.22059/ijvm.2026.410425.1006031
Abstract
Background: Clostridium difficile is one of the leading agents responsible for both human and animal enteric illness. Current understanding regarding the distribution and characteristics of C. difficile in raw meat and offal is notably insufficient.

Objective: This study was aimed to evaluate the prevalence of C. difficile in meat and offal (heart, kidney, and liver) samples of several food animals marketed in Shahrekord city of Iran. The presence of toxigenic genes in isolated strains was evaluated as well.

Methods: A total of 640 samples was analyzed for isolation of C. difficile through culture method. The recovered isolate was subjected to molecular confirmation by PCR. The presence of toxigenic genes was evaluated by PCR as well.

Results: Clostridium difficile was isolated from 13 out of 640 samples (2%). The highest prevalence was observed in sheep meat (10%), followed by cattle and goat meat (7.5% each), camel meat (5%), and cattle liver (2.5%). All isolates from cattle and sheep (n=4), goat (n=3), and camel (n=2) carried the tcdB gene. Additionally, one (25%) isolate each from cattle and sheep harbored the cdtA/cdtB genes. The tcdA gene was detected in two (50%) isolates from cattle and sheep, one (33.4%) from goat, and one (50%) from camel.

Conclusion: The results of this study highlight the potential role of meat and offal of food animals as sources for toxigenic strains of C. difficile.
Keywords
Foodborne pathogen
Clostridium difficile
Prevalence
Raw meat and offal
Toxin genes
Iranian Journal of Veterinary Medicine

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 14 March 2026