5 SPONTANEOUS DEATHS ASSOCIATED WITH CLOSTRIDIUM-DIFFICILE IN A COLONY OF COTTON-TOP TAMARINS (SAGUINUS-OEDIPUS)

Clostridium difficile toxin was detected in the feces of five cotton-t op tamarins (Saguinus oedipus) that died spontaneously over a period o f 10 weeks, Deaths occurred subsequent to antibiotic therapy for infec tious diarrhea associated with Campylobacter spp, Relevant clinical si gns of disease prior to death. included weight loss, watery diarrhea, hematochezia, weakness, and sudden collapse, On histologic examination of the colon at necropsy, pseudomembranous colitis was evident in two cases, a lesion consistent with C. difficile lesions in humans, This finding prompted submission of feces for C. difficile toxin analysis f rom these five cases, Four of the tamarins were from a single room, an d the fifth was housed nearby, The proximity of the cases raises the p ossibility of environmental contamination by resistant C. difficile sp ores or fecal spread of the organism as reported in hospitals,day-care centers, and nurseries, The relative importance of C. difficile and i ts potential role as an unrecognized cause of enteric disease secondar y to antibiotic therapy in nonhuman primates is discussed.