{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,24]],"date-time":"2026-06-24T14:02:18Z","timestamp":1782309738323,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":82,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,2,16]],"date-time":"2021-02-16T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1613433600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100003196","name":"Ministero della Salute","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["RC0072015"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["RC0072015"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100003196","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Animals"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The emergence of Clostridioides difficile as the main agent of antibiotic-associated diarrhoea has raised concerns about its potential zoonotic role in different animal species. The use of antimicrobials is a major risk factor for C. difficile infection. Here, we provide data on C. difficile infection in dairy and beef calves in Umbria, a region in central Italy. This cross-sectional study focuses on prevalence, risk factors, ribotypes, toxinotypes and antimicrobial resistance profiles of circulating ribotypes. A prevalence of 19.8% (CI95%, 12\u201327.6%) positive farms was estimated, and the prescription of penicillins on the farms was associated with C. difficile detection (OR = 5.58). Eleven different ribotypes were found, including the ST11 sublineages RT-126 and -078, which are also commonly reported in humans. Thirteen isolates out of 17 showed resistance to at least one of clindamycin, moxifloxacin, linezolid and vancomycin. Among them, multiple-drug resistance was observed in two isolates, belonging to RT-126. Furthermore, RT-126 isolates were positive for tetracycline resistance determinants, confirming that tetracycline resistance is widespread among ST11 isolates from cattle. The administration of penicillins increased the risk of C. difficile in calves: this, together with the recovery of multi-resistant strains, strongly suggests the need for minimising antibiotic misuse on cattle farms.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ani11020515","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,2,16]],"date-time":"2021-02-16T08:09:09Z","timestamp":1613462949000},"page":"515","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":30,"title":["Clostridioides difficile in Calves in Central Italy: Prevalence, Molecular Typing, Antimicrobial Susceptibility and Association with Antibiotic Administration"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"11","author":[{"given":"Francesca","family":"Blasi","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell\u2019Umbria e delle Marche \u201cTogo Rosati\u201d, 06121 Perugia, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0478-5656","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Carmela","family":"Lovito","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte, Liguria e Valle d\u2019Aosta, 10154 Torino, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Elisa","family":"Albini","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell\u2019Umbria e delle Marche \u201cTogo Rosati\u201d, 06121 Perugia, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5034-3704","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Luca","family":"Bano","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Microbiology and Diagnostic Laboratory, Istutito Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, 31020 Villorba di Treviso, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Gastone","family":"Dalmonte","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell\u2019Emilia Romagna \u201cBruno Ubertini\u201d, 25124 Brescia, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2373-1549","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ilenia","family":"Drigo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Microbiology and Diagnostic Laboratory, Istutito Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, 31020 Villorba di Treviso, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Carmen","family":"Maresca","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell\u2019Umbria e delle Marche \u201cTogo Rosati\u201d, 06121 Perugia, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7235-6300","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Francesca Romana","family":"Massacci","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell\u2019Umbria e delle Marche \u201cTogo Rosati\u201d, 06121 Perugia, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Serenella","family":"Orsini","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell\u2019Umbria e delle Marche \u201cTogo Rosati\u201d, 06121 Perugia, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5711-3685","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sara","family":"Primavilla","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell\u2019Umbria e delle Marche \u201cTogo Rosati\u201d, 06121 Perugia, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4551-9100","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Eleonora","family":"Scoccia","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell\u2019Umbria e delle Marche \u201cTogo Rosati\u201d, 06121 Perugia, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5273-1356","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Silvia","family":"Tofani","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Lazio e della Toscana \u201cM. Aleandri\u201d, 00178 Roma, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0060-3851","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Claudio","family":"Forte","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Turin, 10095 Grugliasco (TO), Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7580-4861","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Chiara Francesca","family":"Magistrali","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell\u2019Umbria e delle Marche \u201cTogo Rosati\u201d, 06121 Perugia, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,2,16]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"647","DOI":"10.1089\/fpd.2016.2181","article-title":"Clostridium difficile Infection in Production Animals and Avian Species: A Review","volume":"13","author":"Moono","year":"2016","journal-title":"Foodborne Pathog. 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