Use of an indirect haemagglutination test for the detection of Clostridium perfringens type A enterotoxin

An indirect haemagglutination (IH) test is described for the detection of Clostridium perfringens type A enterotoxin, produced by strains isolated from human cases of food poisoning and from contaminated food. Though no strict relationship could be observed between titers in the IH test and the time it took mice to die from the intravenous inoculation of mice (IIM test), results of the supernatants examined by both methods demonstrated that the IH test was more sensitive than the IIM one. No unspecific reaction was obtained in the IH with a negative control and the inhibitions of the IH and IIM tests by specific antiserum against C. perfringens enterotoxin showed that the IH test is very specific. The IH assay is recommended for its sensitivity and easy performance by less-equipped laboratories, by these and other data.