Abstract :
Community Acquired Clostridium difficile Infection (CA-CDI) is becoming increasingly
significant. Water could be a source for CA-CDI. The conducted research aimed to evaluate the prevalence
and antimicrobial susceptibility/resistance of Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) (homotypic synonym
Clostridioides difficile) detected in water in Mansoura city, Egypt. Water samples were collected from many
sources. Enrichment/selective cultures were used for isolation and identification of C. difficile. C. difficile
was identified in samples collected from; water supply intake pipe (34.0%), waste water treatment (26.0%),
house tap water (7.1%) and public swimming pool (1.0%). The majority (30/38) of C. difficile isolates were
toxigenic. All isolates were sensetive to vancomycin. Variable degrees of resistance to metronidazole and
clindamycin were detected. The study confirmed that water can be a source for C. difficile transmission and
infection.