ABSTRACT
Clostridium perfringens is best known for its role as a causative agent for gas gangrene especially due to wound infections. This chapter describes the association of the organism with a type of human food poisoning. Gastroenteritis due to C. perfringens type A is characterized by diarrhea and severe abdominal pain 8–24 h following ingestion of food containing large numbers of the organism. C. perfringens is a gram-positive, spore-forming rod. However, one of the laboratory criteria for confirming C. perfringens as the causative agent of gastroenteritis involves determining the organism serotype, which is based on the chemical composition of the capsular polysaccharide on the cell’s exterior. The maximum and minimum growth temperatures for C. perfringens vary depending on the strain, pH, and composition of growth medium used. Many biological assays have been developed for detecting C. perfringens enterotoxin. Gastroenteritis due to C. perfringens enterotoxin can be confirmed by detection of enterotoxin in feces of ill individuals.
