TABLE. Clostridioides difficile strains used in this study.
| Strains | Ribotypes | Toxigenic profile b | Clinical conditions | References |
| SJ1 | 135 a | tcdA + /tcdB + /CDT- | SH, DM, hemorrhagic EVA | 23 |
| HU09 | 133 a | tcdA + /tcdB + /CDT- | Crohn’s disease | 24 |
| 1598 | 014 | tcdA + /tcdB + /CDT- | HIV+ | 25 |
| BI/NAP1 c | 027 | tcdA + /tcdB + /CDT+ | - | 26 |
| 630 | 012 | tcdA + /tcdB + /CDT- | Pseudomembranous colitis | 27 |
a: ribotypes of C. difficile exclusive from Brazil; b: polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to the detection of the toxin genes; c: BI/NAP1/027 strain (ANA #2004016) was kindly provided by Dr Angela Thompson from the CDC, Atlanta, USA; tcdA+ and tcdB+ (positive for the presence of toxins TcdA and TcdB); CDT: (+) positive or (-) negative for the presence of binary toxin genes; SH: system hypertension; DM: diabetes mellitus; EVA: haemorrhagic encephalic vascular accident; HIV+: positive for the human immunodeficiency virus.