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Updated: Oct 5, 2026

Cefoperazone-treated Mouse Model of Clinically-relevant Clostridium difficile Strain R20291
Published on: December 10, 2016
The roles of Clostridium difficile and enterotoxigenic Clostridium perfringens in diarrhea in dogs
J S Weese1, H R Staempfli, J F Prescott
1Department of Clinical Studies, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Canada. jsweese@uoguelph.ca
Abstract:
In this prospective study, feces of dogs with diarrhea were compared with feces of normal dogs for the presence of Clostridium difficile, C difficile toxins A and B, C perfringens, and C perfingens enterotoxin (CPE). C difficile toxins A, B, or both were present in feces of 18 of 87 (21%) dogs with diarrhea and 4 of 55 (7%) normal dogs (P = 0.03), whereas CPE was present in the feces of 24 of 87 (28%) dogs with diarrhea and 3 of 55 (5%) normal dogs (P = 0.01). C difficile was isolated from 2 of 87 (2%) dogs with diarrhea but was not isolated from the feces of 55 normal dogs, possibly because of poor survival of the organism in fecal samples. C perfringens was isolated from the feces of 23 of 24 (96%) CPE-positive dogs with diarrhea, 52 of 63 (83%) CPE-negative dogs with diarrhea, and 39 of 55 (71%) CPE-negative dogs with normal feces. No correlation was found between C perfringens spore number and the presence of CPE.
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