PCR ribotyping of clinically important Clostridium difficile strains from Hungary

Isolates of Clostridium difficile from different hospital wards at the University Hospital of Szeged in Hungary were typed by PCR amplification of rRNA intergenic spacer regions (PCR ribotyping). A total of 15 different ribotypes was detected among the 65 isolates tested. The predominant type, PCR ribotype 087, accounted for 39% of all isolates, in contrast with an international typing study where ribotype 001 was the most common. Two non-toxigenic C. difficile strains were found to exhibit the same pattern, which was distinct from those of all the ribotypes described previously, suggesting that this is a new type.