Population Dynamics of Ingested Clostridium difficile in the Gastrointestinal Tract of the Syrian Hamster

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Abstract
The population dynamics of Clostridium difficile in the hamster gastrointestinal tract were studied after intragastric inoculation with organisms and a 51Cr tracer. Seventy-eight percent of spores germinated within the small intestine within 1 hr. Germinated spores and vegetative cells both showed two phases of elimination from the hamster cecum — an initial phase of rapid death that was not affected by antibiotic treatment followed by a phase of complete inhibition of multiplication. The latter phase of inhibition was not seen in antibiotic-treated animals and was thus attributable to the indigenous flora. The 51Cr tracer mixed well with cecal contents and was eliminated exponentially with a dilution rate constant ranging from −0.46/hr to −0.31/hr in normal hamsters. The hamster cecum was therefore dynamically analogous to a continuous flow system, a finding supporting the concept that anaerobic continous flow cultures are useful in vitro models of the cecal ecosystem.