Genotyping and Antimicrobial Susceptibility of Clostridium perfringens and Clostridioides difficile in Camel Minced Meat

The present study aimed to determine the occurrence, genotypes, and antimicrobial resistance of ( ) and ( ) in camel minced meat samples collected from small butcher shops and supermarkets in Al-Ahsa Governorate, Saudi Arabia. A total of 100 camel minced meat samples were randomly collected from small butcher's shops (n = 50) and supermarkets (n = 50) in Al-Ahsa Governorate, Saudi Arabia. and were isolated and identified using the VITEK-2 compact system and 16S rRNA gene amplification. Genotypes, toxin genes, and antimicrobial susceptibility of the isolates were determined. Moreover, ELISA was used to detect and toxins. and were isolated from 14% and 4% of the tested minced meat samples, respectively. Out of the 14 isolates, type A (64.3%), type B (7.1%), type C (21.5%), and type D (7.1%) were detected. However, out of the four isolates, three (75%) were type A B and one (25%) was type A B . None of the or toxins were identified using ELISA. and isolates exhibited a high rate of resistance to tetracycline (56% and 75%, respectively). However, all isolates were susceptible to amoxicillin-clavulanate. Multidrug resistance was observed in three (21.4%) and one (25%) isolates. In conclusion, camel minced meat was contaminated with and , which present a potential risk of food poisoning. The majority of the isolates were resistant to at least one antimicrobial, and some isolates were multidrug-resistant. Therefore, food safety standards and frequent inspections of abattoirs, small butcher shops, and supermarkets should be enforced.