Emerging Infectious Disease ISSN: 1080-6059

Possible Seasonality of Clostridium difficile in Retail Meat, Canada

Alexander Rodriguez-Palacios

, Richard J. Reid-Smith, Henry R. Staempfli, Danielle Daignault, Nicol Janecko, Brent P. Avery, Hayley Martin, Angela D. Thomspon, L. Clifford McDonald, Brandi Limbago, and J. Scott Weese

Author affiliations: University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada (A. Rodriguez-Palacios, R.J. Reid-Smith, H.R. Staempfli, N. Janecko, H. Martin, J.S. Weese); Public Health Agency of Canada, Guelph (R.J. Reid-Smith, B.P. Avery); Public Health Agency of Canada, Saint-Hyacinthe, Québec, Canada (D. Diagnault); Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA (A.D. Thompson, L.C. McDonald, B. Limbago)

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Figure 1

Distribution of retail grocery stores sampled (n = 210) and proportion with contaminated meat. The overall proportion of stores with >1 meat package contaminated with Clostridium difficile was 5.7%. No statistical differences were observed when comparing the proportions of ground beef contamination in Québec, Ontario, and Saskatchewan, Canada (p>0.2). No comparisons for veal chops were made because Québec was the main source of this commodity; veal from milk-fed calves was not available in

Figure 1. Distribution of retail grocery stores sampled (n = 210) and proportion with contaminated meat. The overall proportion of stores with >1 meat package contaminated with Clostridium difficile was 5.7%. No statistical differences were observed when comparing the proportions of ground beef contamination in Québec, Ontario, and Saskatchewan, Canada (p>0.2). No comparisons for veal chops were made because Québec was the main source of this commodity; veal from milk-fed calves was not available in Saskatchewan, and only 3 stores had this type of veal during sampling in Ontario.

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