{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,1]],"date-time":"2026-10-01T00:14:52Z","timestamp":1790813692873,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":74,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,4]],"date-time":"2025-02-04T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1738627200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001584","name":"Department for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM)","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["17F206"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["17F206"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001584","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Antibiotics"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Clostridioides difficile (C. difficile), once considered a predominantly nosocomial pathogen, is increasingly implicated in community-acquired infections (CA-CDIs). This study investigates the prevalence, ribotypes, and antimicrobial susceptibility of C. difficile in Irish pork products and abattoirs, with a focus on the potential public health implications. A total of 180 retail pork products and 150 pig carcase swabs from three abattoirs were examined, alongside 30 environmental lairage samples. The C. difficile isolates were characterised through ribotyping and tested in terms of antimicrobial susceptibility. No C. difficile was isolated from the retail pork, while the carcase swabs yielded a low recovery rate (0.66%). However, the lairage areas were contaminated with C. difficile (33%), and six different ribotypes were identified, including the clinically relevant RT078. The ribotypes exhibited susceptibility to the antibiotics used to treat C. difficile infection (CDI) (fidaxomicin, vancomycin, and metronidazole) but showed resistance to tetracycline (9%) and ciprofloxacin (100%). These findings align with the international findings on antimicrobial resistance in C. difficile and suggest that strict EU food safety standards could mitigate retail pork contamination risks. Nevertheless, the environmental exposure during slaughtering and handling processes presents potential transmission risks for workers.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/antibiotics14020151","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,4]],"date-time":"2025-02-04T05:55:22Z","timestamp":1738648522000},"page":"151","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["An Investigation into the Prevalence of Clostridioides difficile in Irish Pig Abattoirs and Pork Meat Products as a Potential Source of Human Infection"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1354-9839","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Aoife","family":"Doyle","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Discipline of Clinical Microbiology, Sir Patrick Dun Research Laboratory, Trinity College Dublin, St. James\u2019s Hospital Campus, D08 RX0X Dublin, Ireland"},{"name":"Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine Laboratories, Backweston, Celbridge, W23 X3PH Kildare, Ireland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Thomas R.","family":"Rogers","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Discipline of Clinical Microbiology, Sir Patrick Dun Research Laboratory, Trinity College Dublin, St. James\u2019s Hospital Campus, D08 RX0X Dublin, Ireland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9037-1432","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Declan","family":"Bolton","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Teagasc, Food Research Centre, Ashtown, D15 KN3K Dublin, Ireland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3722-5935","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Catherine M.","family":"Burgess","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Teagasc, Food Research Centre, Ashtown, D15 KN3K Dublin, Ireland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Paul","family":"Whyte","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"UCD-Centre for Food Safety, School of Public Health, Physiotherapy & Sports Science, University College Dublin, D05 N2E5 Dublin, Ireland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5424-5167","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jesus","family":"Frias","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Sustainability and Health Research Hub, School of Food Science and Environmental Health, Technological University Dublin, Cathal Brugha Street, D01 HV58 Dublin, Ireland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1922-8836","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"S\u00e9amus","family":"Fanning","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"UCD-Centre for Food Safety, School of Public Health, Physiotherapy & Sports Science, University College Dublin, D05 N2E5 Dublin, Ireland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"M\u00e1ire C.","family":"McElroy","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine Laboratories, Backweston, Celbridge, W23 X3PH Kildare, Ireland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,4]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Mart\u00ednez-Mel\u00e9ndez, A., Morfin-Otero, R., Villarreal-Trevi\u00f1o, L., Baines, S.D., Camacho-Ort\u00edz, A., and Garza-Gonz\u00e1lez, E. 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