Characterization of Clostridium perfringens of animals, birds, and foods of animal origin

Abstract

Screening of 119 samples of clinically affected animals/birds and foods of animal origin revealed C. perfringens in 43 samples. Toxin typing of the isolated C. perfringens revealed 39 as toxin types A, while the remaining four were recognized as the new toxin type (type F). All the isolates irrespective of toxin type were haemolysin producing, while phospholipase C activity and DNase production were detected in 81.4 and 76.74 percent of the isolates, respectively. An identical plasmid of 23.1 kb size was detected in 16 isolates, of which 15 were belonged to type A and the rest to type F. The present observation on the recovery of haemolysin, phospholipase C and DNase producing isolates of C. perfringens type A, and particularly the type F from infected animals/birds as well as foods of animal origin could draw significant public health importance with a future study to correlate plasmid profiling with C. perfringens toxin types.