ABSTRACT
Clostridium perfringens is a gram-positive, anaerobic, nonmotile, spore-forming rod that is capable of producing potent exotoxins. The bacterium is subdivided into five types based upon the production of four major lethal toxins: alpha, beta, epsilon, and iota. The most important toxin is alpha toxin, a lecithinase that destroys cell membranes, alters capillary permeability, destroys platelets, and causes severe hemolysis. In appropriate environmental conditions, vegetative forms of the histotoxic clostridia replicate and elaborate toxins that diffuse into adjacent soft tissue and promote local spread as well as extensive systemic effects. Despite its relatively high prevalence in the lower gastrointestinal tract bacterial flora, C. perfringens is a rare isolate from the female genital tract.
