To the best Authors knowledge this is the
first investigation on
the occurrence of C. difficile in industrial rabbit farms. Although the
study was not designed to assess the C. difficile prevalence in
rabbits, the sampling was considerable as 40% of the national
holdings were included and overall 1279 rabbits tested. Results
showed that a small proportion of rabbits, irrespective of the
presence of enteric disorders, carries C. difficile (3%). Among the 38
C. difficile isolates originating from the study, 16 different ribotypes
were identified. The toxigenic ribotypes RT-014/020, RT-078 and
RT-012, isolated in at least three rabbit holdings of our study, were
also described in other animals,