Toxin-types of Clostridium perfringens strains isolated from sheep, cattle and paddock soils in Nigeria

Two-hundred and forty-five strains of Clostridium perfringens isolated from the faeces of apparently healthy sheep and cattle and from their environments (paddock soils) in Kano and Kaduna States of Nigeria were studied. The isolates were examined by the toxin-antitoxin neutralisation tests performed intradermally in depilated albino guinea-pigs. One-hundred and twenty-seven (53.1%) of the isolates were type A, 17 (7.1%) were type B, 14 (4.9%) were type C, 44 (18.4%) were type D and 19 (7.9%) were type E. Eighteen (7.5%) were not typable while six were lost during storage. The significance of this distribution and the potential danger to animal health, especially as regards enterotoxaemias, cannot be over-emphasized.