Improved isolation of Clostridium perfringens from foal faeces
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T Netherwood1, N Chanter, J A Mumford
1Animal Health Trust, Newmarket, Suffolk.
Abstract:
There have been several case reports of foal diarrhoea associated with Clostridium perfringens. However, there has been no epidemiological assessment of the strength of the association of these bacteria with foal diarrhoea or of their relative importance. To prepare methods for such a study, the success of different cultural techniques for the isolation of C perfringens was examined with respect to the various physiological states of the bacteria. The germination and growth of C perfringens NCTC 8239 endospores of differing maturity were favoured by different pre-treatments which failed to recover vegetative cells or endospores of C perfringens NCTC 8237. Faecal samples from 271 foals were used to test the hypothesis that the recovery of C perfringens, probably present in different states ranging between vegetative cell and germinating endospore, would be improved by using several methods in parallel. Five methods (two pre-enrichment and three direct), using different pre-treatments with heat, ethanol and EDTA, or no pre-treatment, together isolated C perfringens from 64 per cent of the samples; the most sensitive method (which isolated the most C perfringens) detected only 74 per cent of these positive samples. All the methods detected C perfringens in at least one sample from which it was not isolated by any other method. It was concluded that several methods used in combination on each sample would be required to evaluate fully any epidemiological association between C perfringens and foal diarrhoea.
Insights
Clostridium perfringens is linked to foal diarrhea. To accurately study this, multiple culturing methods are needed to detect the bacteria in various forms, improving diagnostic accuracy for foal gastrointestinal disease.
Area of Science:
- Veterinary Microbiology
- Equine Health
- Bacterial Pathogenesis
Background:
- Case reports suggest a link between Clostridium perfringens and foal diarrhea.
- Previous studies lacked epidemiological assessment of the bacteria's prevalence and significance in foal diarrhea.
- Understanding Clostridium perfringens' varied physiological states is crucial for accurate detection.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate different cultural techniques for isolating Clostridium perfringens from foal feces.
- To determine the optimal methods for detecting Clostridium perfringens in its various forms (vegetative cells, endospores, germinating endospores).
- To prepare for future epidemiological studies on the association between Clostridium perfringens and foal diarrhea.
Main Methods:
- Examined the success of different cultural techniques on Clostridium perfringens NCTC 8239 endospores of varying maturity.
- Tested five parallel isolation methods (two pre-enrichment, three direct) with varied pre-treatments (heat, ethanol, EDTA) on 271 foal fecal samples.
- Compared the recovery rates of Clostridium perfringens across different methods and pre-treatments.
Main Results:
- A combination of five methods isolated Clostridium perfringens from 64% of the fecal samples.
- The most sensitive single method detected only 74% of the positive samples, highlighting the need for multiple approaches.
- Each method identified Clostridium perfringens in at least one sample missed by all other methods.
Conclusions:
- No single cultural method is sufficient for detecting Clostridium perfringens in foal fecal samples.
- Parallel use of multiple isolation techniques is essential for comprehensive detection of Clostridium perfringens.
- Combined methods are required to accurately assess the epidemiological association between Clostridium perfringens and foal diarrhea.