[Staphylococcal coagglutination for the detection of the enterotoxin of Clostridium perfringens]

The staphylococcal coagglutination technique has been used in recent years for detecting various bacterial antigens and toxins. It is a simple and rapid technique which requires no specialized equipment. This report describes a staphylococcal coagglutination procedure for assaying C. perfringens enterotoxin. Its sensitivity and specificity were studied with the aid of various enterotoxin preparations and culture filtrates of C. perfringens and other Clostridium species. This assay detects between 1.9 and 3.8 micrograms of enterotoxin per ml. Only the enterotoxin preparations and the C. perfringens culture fluids were positive.