Short communication: Contamination of home-grown and retail vegetables with Clostridioides difficile

The opportunistic intestinal pathogen Clostridioides difficile is the number one cause of nosocomial diarrhea in humans. In this study, C. difficile was isolated from 26.7% of potatoes and 1.9% of salads from German retail. The majority of strains possessed toxinogenic PCR-ribotypes that are associated with human clinical cases pointing towards a potential risk to human health. • High prevalence (26.7%) of C. difficile in home-grown and retail potatoes. • Contamination rates in ready-to-eat mixed salads significantly higher than in whole salad. • Most isolates (62.5%) belonged to toxigenic PCR-ribotypes (RT002, 005, 014, 023, 078). • Association of identified PCR-ribotypes with human clinical cases. • Most isolates (14/16) were susceptible to all six investigated antimicrobials.