Clostridium perfringens, one of the most pathogenic species in the Clostridium genus, is a cause for increasing concern due to its responsibility for severe infections both in humans and animals, especially poultry. C. perfringens is a rod-shaped, Gram-positive, anaerobic spore-forming bacterium with the ability to produce potent toxins. According to the pattern of toxin expression, C. perfringens strains are classified into five toxinotypes: A, B, C, D and E. The interest in this microorganism is increasing because it is responsible for food poisoning, gas gangrene, necrotic enteritis (NE) both in humans and animals, and non-food borne gastrointestinal infections. In fact, C. perfringens is considered the third leading cause of human food poisoning-related death in the UK and USA.
A range of different alternatives to the conventional antimicrobial growth promoter approach are being investigated to reduce the numbers of C. perfringens pathogens in the food chain and to improve poultry health. In addition to vaccination and the use of natural antimicrobials, there are a number of examples of using probiotic microbes or lvtic enzymes to control NE in poultry.
Despite such control strategies, C. perfringens-associated food poisoning is classed among the most common gastrointestinal diseases in industrialized countries. One of the most frequently occurring infections caused by C. perfringens type A is NE in poultry; in countries where the use of antimicrobial growth promoters has been abolished, the incidence of NE has increased and the productivity of the poultry industry has been reduced.
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