ABSTRACT
TH E gram-positive anaerobe Clostridium perfringens is ideally suited for its role as a major foodborne pathogen (see McClane, 1997, for review). The widespread natural distribution of C. perfringens in both soil and the gastrointestinal (GI) tract of humans and other animals provides this bacterium with ample opportunities to contaminate foods. C. perfringens has an excellent ability to survive in incompletely cooked foods due to the relative heat tolerance of its vegetative cells (which wil l grow at temperatures up to at least 50°C) and its ability to form heat-resistant endospores. The exceptionally short doubling time of C. perfringens (reportedly <10 minutes in some studies) makes it relatively easy for this bacterium to contaminate foods at levels (~106-107
vegetative cells/gram of food) necessary for causing C. perfringens foodborne disease (see below). Finally, strains of this bacterium associated with food poisoning produce a protein toxin, named C. perfringens enterotoxin (CPE), that is highly active on the human Gl tract. As will be discussed in detail below, CPE is considered the virulence factor responsible for the GI symptoms of C. perfringens type A food poisoning.
