An enhanced DNA fingerprinting service to investigate potential Clostridium difficile infection case clusters sharing the same PCR ribotype

Of 53 potential Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) case clusters/outbreaks, affecting 2 to 41 patients in 27 institutions, 19% comprised unrelated isolates and 34% had highly related and distinct isolates as shown by multilocus variable-number tandem-repeat analysis, despite sharing a common ribotype. These findings emphasize the value of enhanced fingerprinting to confirm or refute suspected CDI case clusters.