Whole-Genome Sequencing Reveals the High Nosocomial Transmission and Antimicrobial Resistance of Clostridioides difficile in a Single Center in China, a Four-Year Retrospective Study
Xin Wen, Cong Shen, Jinyu Xia, Lan‐Lan Zhong, Zhongwen Wu, Mohamed Abd El-Gawad El-Sayed Ahmed, Nana Long, Furong Ma, Guili Zhang, Wenwei Wu, Jianlve Luo, Yong Xia, Min Dai, Liyan Zhang, Kang Liao, Siyuan Feng, Chen Cha, Yishen Chen, Wenji Luo, Guo‐Bao Tian
Abstract
Clostridioides difficile infections (CDI) are the leading cause of healthcare-associated diarrhea and are known to be resistant to multiple antibiotics. In the past decade, C. difficile has emerged rapidly and has spread globally, causing great concern among American and European countries. However, research on CDI remains limited in China. Here, we characterized the comprehensive spectrum of C. difficile by whole-genome sequencing (WGS) in a Chinese hospital, showing a high detection rate among patients, diverse genome characteristics, a high level of antibiotic resistance, and an unknown nosocomial transmission risk of C. difficile. During the study period, two C. difficile transferase (CDT)-positive isolates belonging to a new multilocus sequence type (ST820) were detected, which have caused serious clinical symptoms. This work describes C. difficile integrally and provides new insight into C. difficile surveillance based on WGS in China.