{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,2]],"date-time":"2026-10-02T15:25:50Z","timestamp":1790954750736,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":41,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,11]],"date-time":"2025-08-11T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1754870400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Microbiol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title><jats:p>Toxigenic strains of <jats:italic>Clostridioides difficile<\/jats:italic> are the leading cause of healthcare-associated bacterial infections in Poland. In the Silesian Voivodeship, with 4.5 million inhabitants, the incidence of <jats:italic>C. difficile<\/jats:italic> infection (CDI) in 2023 reached 65.1\/100,000, slightly down from 70.0\/100,000 in 2022. This study aimed to investigate the occurrence of toxigenic <jats:italic>C. difficile<\/jats:italic> ribotypes in hospitalized patients in Silesia.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Materials and methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>A total of 130 stool samples from patients with confirmed antibiotic-associated diarrhea were tested. Multiplex PCR detected genes for GDH, toxins A\/B, binary toxin CDT, and 16S rDNA. Ribotyping was performed by capillary PCR, and antibiotic susceptibility was tested with ETEST for 10 antibiotics.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>Multiplex PCR confirmed the presence of all toxins (A<jats:sup>+<\/jats:sup>B<jats:sup>+<\/jats:sup>CDT<jats:sup>+<\/jats:sup>) in 97 isolates. Six strains (6%) represented ribotype 955 (RT955), first reported in Poland in 2023. RT027 remained dominant (60%, <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\u202f=\u202f78). All isolates were susceptible to vancomycin, while 4% (5\/130) showed metronidazole resistance.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title><jats:p>RT027 remains prevalent among CDI cases in Silesia. The emergence of RT955, closely related to a UK epidemic strain, suggests a possible shared origin and epidemiological link.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fmicb.2025.1644051","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,11]],"date-time":"2025-08-11T14:08:58Z","timestamp":1754921338000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["Dominance of toxigenic Clostridioides difficile strains and the appearance of the emerging PCR ribotype 955 in hospitals in Silesia, Poland"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Klaudia","family":"Szarek","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Natalia","family":"Frankowska","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Monika","family":"Kaba\u0142a","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Wiep Klaas","family":"Smits","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Dorota","family":"Wulta\u0144ska","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Piotr","family":"Lalowski","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hanna","family":"Pituch","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Adam","family":"Iwanicki","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Krzysztof","family":"Hinc","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"C\u00e9line","family":"Harmanus","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ingrid M. 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