Outbreak of Clostridium difficile 027 in North Zealand, Denmark, 2008-2009

S Bacci; G St-Martin; B Olesen; B Bruun; K EP Olsen; E Møller Nielsen; K Mølbak

doi:10.2807/ese.14.16.19183-en

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Outbreak of Clostridium difficile 027 in North Zealand, Denmark, 2008-2009
S Bacci^1,2 , G St-Martin¹ , B Olesen³ , B Bruun³ , K EP Olsen⁴ , E Møller Nielsen⁴ , K Mølbak¹
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Affiliations: ¹ Department of Epidemiology, Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark ² European Programme for Intervention Epidemiology Training (EPIET), European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, Stockholm, Sweden ³ Department of Clinical Microbiology, Hillerød Hospital, Hillerød, Denmark ⁴ Department of Bacteriology, Mycology and Parasitology, Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark

Correspondence:
S Bacci
cci ssi.dk
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Citation style for this article: Bacci S, St-Martin G, Olesen B, Bruun B, Olsen K EP, Møller Nielsen E, Mølbak K. Outbreak of Clostridium difficile 027 in North Zealand, Denmark, 2008-2009. Euro Surveill. 2009;14(16):pii=19183. https://doi.org/10.2807/ese.14.16.19183-en Received: 17 Apr 2009

Abstract

We report an outbreak of Clostridium difficile PCR ribotype 027 in Denmark. The outbreak includes to date 73 cases from the area north of Copenhagen, but there may be related cases elsewhere in Zealand. Most infections are healthcare-associated and in patients who previously received antibiotic treatment. The strain is resistant to moxifloxacin, erythromycin, and clindamycin, and carries genes for toxin A, toxin B, and for the binary toxin. The antimicrobial pattern differs from that of the strain involved in a small cluster in Denmark in 2006-2007. Because of this outbreak, hygienic measures in the involved hospitals have been reinforced. Nationwide, microbiological laboratories were alerted to the outbreak and encouraged to send isolates for toxin profiling and PCR ribotyping.