doi:10.1111/jam.13343engAndrés-Lasheras, S.Bolea, R.Mainar-Jaime, R. C.Kuijper, E.Sevilla, E.Martín-Burriel, I.Chirino-Trejo, M.Presence of Clostridium difficile in pig faecal samples and wild animal species associated with pig farmsART-2017-97825Aims: to determine the presence of Clostridium difficile on fattening pig farms in north-eastern Spain. Methods and results: Twenty-seven farms were sampled. Pools of pig faecal samples (n = 210), samples of intestinal content from common farm pest species (n = 95) and environment-related samples (n = 93) were collected. Isolates were tested for toxin genes of C. difficile, and typed by PCR-ribotyping and toxinotyping. The minimal inhibitory concentrations of six antimicrobial agents were determined using Etest. Thirty-four isolates were obtained from 12 farms, and 30 (88·2%) had toxin genes. Seven ribotypes were identified. Ribotype 078 and its variant 126 were predominant (52·9%). The same ribotypes were isolated from different animal species on the same farm. None of the isolates were resistant to metronidazole or vancomycin. Conclusions: Clostridium difficile was common within the pig farm environment. Most of the positive samples came from pest species or were pest-related environmental samples. Significance and Impact of the Study: Pest species were colonized with toxigenic and antimicrobial-resistant C. difficile strains of the same ribotypes that are found in humans and pigs. Rodents and pigeons may transmit toxigenic and antimicrobial-resistant C. difficile strains that are of the same ribotypes as those occuring in humans.2017http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/7931710.1111/jam.13343http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/79317oai:zaguan.unizar.es:79317info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/INIA/FAU2008-16Journal of Applied Microbiology 122, 2 (2017), 462-472 [27 p.]All rights reservedhttp://www.europeana.eu/rights/rr-f/info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess