Necrotic enteritis (NE) is the most common and financially
devastating bacterial disease in modern broiler flocks. It is an
infectious disease caused by Clostridium perfringens, which is a
gram-positive, anaerobic bacterium that can be found in soil,
litter, dust and at low levels in the intestine of healthy
birds. Clostridium perfringensonly causes NE when it transforms
from non-toxin producing type to toxin producing type. There are
five types of C. perfringens (A, B, C, D and E) which produce a
number of toxins (alpha, beta, epsilon, iota and CPE). The
α-toxin, an enzyme (phospholipase C) is believed to be a key to
the occurrence of NE. However, a recent study has shown that an
isolate that does not produce α-toxin can still cause disease.
In addition, a new toxin called NetB has been recently
identified in disease causing C. perfringens isolates. The
intestine of infected birds is friable and distended with gas
and gross lesions caused by toxins. In the acute form of NE,
birds often die without clinical s