Toxin typing of Clostridium perfringens associated with enterotoxaemia cases of sheep and healthy group in Fars province by PCR and ELISA methods.

Clostridium perfringens is implicated in the etiology of some diseases including fatal enterotoxaemia. Determination of dominant toxin types of this microorganism can be helpful in epidemiologic surveys and formulation of more proper vaccines. To understand the pathogenicity of this bacterium, it seems necessary to describe the toxin and virulence genes content of strains involved in enterotoxaemia and other associated diseases. The aim of our study was isolation and toxin typing of C. perfringens of sheep with suspected enterotoxaemia in Fars province by culture- PCR and ELISA methods and comparison to isolates of healthy group. Samples of intestinal contents from enterotoxaemia cases and healthy group of sheep were collected. The presence of alpha, beta, and epsilon toxins were evaluated by ELISA method. After culture and isolation of C. perfringens, toxin typing and screening of isolates for presence of beta-2 and enterotoxin was performed by PCR method. C. perfringens was isolated from 102 of 167 suspected enterotoxaemia cases of sheep and from 22 of 50 healthy sheep. The PCR results showed that type A was the most prevalent toxin type in both groups but according to ELISA type D was the dominant toxin type in clinical group. Enterotoxin gene was detected in 10% of all isolates from healthy and suspected group isolates of types A and D. The beta-2 gene was identified in 35% and 63.6% of enterotoxaemia-associated isolates and isolates not associated with disease respectively. In conclusion, Type D of C. perfringens was the dominant causative organism of fatal enterotoxaemia of sheep in Fars province.