Antibiotic-associated colitis due to Clostridium difficile in a Kodiak bear

Abstract

Clostridium difficile and its toxins usually are present in feces of laboratory animals and persons with antibiotic-associated colitis. We report antibiotic-associated colitis in a captive Kodiak bear (Alaskan brown bear, Ursus arctos) in which C difficile and its cytotoxin were found in feces. This indicates that the colitis associated with C difficile and its toxins can occur in nonlaboratory large animals and that this organism may be the causative agent in certain cases of idiopathic colitis in animals. This case also indicates that nonlaboratory animals may be a source of the organism.