# Clostridium- common and deadly



## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

Clostridium is a class of bacteria that is severely toxic and deadly to chickens and humans as well, (or should I say humans and chickens as well?) One of the most common and deadly to chickens is Clostridium Perfringens, which is frequently the cause of Necrotic Enteritis, and may work hand in hand with Coccidia. Clostridium causes death of the intestinal walls (Enteritis) , and Cocci and e. Coli are always readily available to lend an evil helping hand. Necrotic Enteritis can have no symptoms or symptoms like Coccidiosis, but requires a different medication. Of course damage from worms can make it real easy for Clostridium, Cocci, and e. coli to attack and multiply on the damaged tissue. Clostridium Perfrigens in humans is known as Gas Gangrene.
Other Clostridium is known as Botulism, Tetanus, and C. diff (severe deadly diarrhea). (kf)

Clostridium

For humans, four species are of particular interest: C. botulinum, C. perfringens, C. tetani, and C. difficile. These bacteria are responsible for botulism, gas gangrene, tetanus, and enterocolitis, and they can pose a serious problem for medical professionals. The botulism-causing bacteria thrives in rotten food, especially in sealed containers that people may think are safe, causing numerous cases of food-borne illness that can be life threatening. C. difficile inhabits the intestines of healthy people, but it can quickly take over and cause a severe infection if the good bacteria in the gut are disabled. C. sordelli is another pathogenic bacteria that has been known to cause infections in pregnant and pediatric patients.

An estimated 100 species can be found in the Clostridium genus of bacteria, and they live all over the world. Humans are primarily interested in a handful of species that can be pathogenic in nature, along with those that can be used for certain industrial applications. Like many bacteria, Clostridium are ubiquitous in the environment; for example, they are commonly present in the intestinal tracts of humans.

These rod shaped bacteria stain Gram positive, and they are capable of forming endospores. These spores can go into dormancy to resist hostile conditions, and they are capable of enduring many measures used to sterilize environments to remove them. They will awaken when conditions appear safe, allowing the bacteria to flourish. Most Clostridium bacteria need anaerobic environments to live, and they produce energy by fermentation, usually generating an unpleasant odor as a byproduct.

Several species can be used in the production of ethanol, as they generate it as a byproduct of fermentation. This fact has been of interest to companies which work on alternative fuels. Research on additional Clostridium bacteria species may reveal other potential applications for these common bacteria. These bacteria are also known nitrogen fixers in soil, contributing a benefit to gardens and crops.

The risk of infection with Clostridium bacteria can be reduced by observing basic hygiene. People should wash their hands after using the restroom, scrub foods before eating them and observe safe canning practices when making preserved food. Patients must always follow medical recommendations carefully when receiving treatment for a Clostridium infection to ensure that the bacteria are removed from the body.

(article taken from wisegeek)


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## MichaelA69 (Sep 5, 2015)

_http://www.worldpoultry.net/Breeder...enteritis-away-from-poultry-flocks-WP007497W/
"As Clostridium lacks the ability to produce 13 out of the 20 essential amino acids, *its growth is therefore enhanced in an environment rich with proteins*. Besides these factors, several other nutritional factors have an influence on necrotic enteritis. Basically, *all diets with an imbalanced nutritional content can predispose necrotic enteritis*. *Diets with a low energy to protein ratio lead to a higher feed consumption and will result in an excessive protein intake *and thereby increase the nitrogen level in the digesta and excreta. Similarly, *poorly digested proteins in the lower gastro intestinal tract act as a substrate for the microflora*. In order for efficient excretion to take place the animals need to take in larger quantities of water, but then the litter tends to become wetter with a higher level of nitrogen. This allows the opportunity for pathogenic bacteria such as Clostridium perfringens _to proliferate in the litter, which is likely to exacerbate the problems. Any factor that stresses the broiler chickens gastro intestinal tract is a risk for _Clostridium perfringens _proliferation. There is evidence to suggest that alterations in feeding regimes cause stress in the gastro intestinal."


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

Michael, I've read that basically, slow moving food can increase the opportunity for C. perf bacteria to increase. Aside from too much wheat, what else is slow moving?


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## casportpony (Aug 22, 2015)

Written for dog and cats, but still useful:

When pets get chronic diarrhea, one of the tests that sooner or later comes up is the test for Clostridium perfringens enterotoxin. Clostridium perfringens is a bacterium and it produces an unpleasant toxin. The situation sounds simple: one gets infected with toxin-forming bacteria, one gets diarrhea, the diarrhea should at least improve with removal of the toxin-forming bacteria. As with most things, the situation turns out to be more complicated.

Clostridium perfringens
What is Clostridium perfringens?

Clostridium perfringens is one species out of numerous Clostridia. Clostridial diseases are very classic in medicine, both veterinary and human. It is a Clostridium that causes tetanus, a Clostridium that causes botulism, and Clostridia are responsible for gangrene, "black leg," lamb dysentery and other famous maladies. Clostridia have several features in common that make them especially nefarious but most importantly:

They produce toxins.

They are anaerobic (they grow in the absence of oxygen).

They form spores (essentially armor) so as to withstand environmental change (including disinfectants) that would kill more vulnerable bacteria.
Clostridium perfringens is one of the brothers of this evil family and is further classified into five types depending on what combination of four toxins it produces.

One of the toxins that some Clostridium perfringens strains can produce is called Clostridium perfringens enterotoxin. It causes fluid secretion into the intestine and this leads to diarrhea. This toxin can be detected in 34% of dogs with diarrhea (and 5 - 14% of dogs that don't have diarrhea).

Which Clostridia are bad?

This is the crux of the problem. Clostridium perfringens can be cultured from the feces of 80% of dogs whether they have diarrhea or not. Plus, we know that while C. perfringens enterotoxin certainly causes diarrhea, some dogs seem to be unaffected.

The organism can be consumed in food and when it arrives in the small intestine, it sporulates (forms a spore) and begins to produce its toxin. Alternatively, the organism may have been happily and innocuously living in the intestine for who knows how long when something causes it sporulate and produce toxin. The trigger may be dietary, related to infection with another organism or even related to the administration of a medication. The type of diarrhea produced by the toxin is generally a colitis, meaning the large intestine is affected. Such types of diarrhea are mucous, possibly bloody, and associated with straining. A more watery diarrhea (as comes from the small intestine) is also possible. Severity of the diarrhea can be mild all the way to life-threatening.

When should we treat for Clostridium perfringens?

Let us begin with the obvious: a dog does not need to be treated for Clostridium perfringens unless it has diarrhea. Since 80% of dogs harbor Clostridium perfringens whether they have diarrhea or not, culturing Clostridium perfringens from a fecal sample will not be adequate for diagnosis; we have to find the toxin.

In the past, looking under the microscope for Clostridial spores was thought to be helpful, since we know the organism must change to its spore-form to produce toxin. Apparently, the organism sporulates without necessarily producing toxin so this method has not been as helpful as we had hoped.

Immunologic testing for the presence of the toxin in a fecal sample is the state of the art at the current time. These tests are performed at a reference laboratory and results are typically obtained in 1 - 2 days. For maximum accuracy, PCR testing for detection of the Clostridial gene for enterotoxin production is combined with the above immunologic testing for toxin presence.

Treating the toxin positive dog with diarrhea

Any number of antibiotics can be used to remove Clostridium perfringens. Some choices include: ampicillin, amoxicillin, metronidazole, erythromycin, and tylosin. Tetracycline was formerly on the list but too much resistance has developed. If Clostridium perfringens is responsible for the diarrhea, a response to antibiotics is generally seen in a couple of days. A total antibiotic course of several weeks is typical.

Source: http://www.marvistavet.com/html/clostridium_perfringens.html


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## MichaelA69 (Sep 5, 2015)

I've always fed rolled oats sparingly mixed in formulated feeds which do not contain oats. Oats are a good source of plant protein, but also a good source of fiber. Lots of people think oats are to be soaked. That isn't so. The hulls are even supposed to be beneficial for feathering, but should be rolled with a split hull. Most know granite grit is beneficial always. Animal protein such as whey, or even nutritional yeast can be given with much benefit, just not on a daily basis. Fish meal is slowly digested.


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