Fatal Case of Clostridium difficile Infection in a Neonatal Piglet in Korea

There have been litters of neonatal piglets that died shortly after birth, with a fatality of nearly 100%. The submitted pig had pasty yellowish brown colonic contents and severe mesocolonic edema with distinct suppurative colitis and lymphadenitis. Clostridium difficile toxins were detected and heavy growth of toxigenic C. difficile was yielded in the colonic contents. This strain was characterized by ribotype 078 and had multidrug resistance. A fatal case of porcine enteritis associated with C. difficile in Korea has been described.