• Clostridium perfringens causes food borne gastroenteritis which is due to enterotoxin production.
• Clostridium perfringeus multiply and produce enterotoxin in food.
• After ingestion, it further multiplies in intestinal tract and produce further enterotoxin.
• Therefore, gastroenteritis caused by Clostridium perfringens is food infection rather than intoxication.

Etiological agent:

• Clostridium perfringens is gram +ve, non-motile, anaerobic, spore forming rod shaped bacteria.
• However, Clostridium perfringens occasionally survive in presence of O₂ , minimum, optimum and maximum temperature for growth are 15^oC, 43-47^oC and 55^oC respectively.
• pH range is 5-9. It is inhibited by 5% NaCl (minimum A_w 0.97).
• They produce 5 types of antigenically different enterotoxins A, B, C, D, and E.
• Clostridium perfringens are also classified into 5 groups on the basis of type of enterotoxin they produce.
• Main food poisoning strain is type A. However, food poisoning by type C strain are also reported in some countries.
• Enterotoxin of Clostridium perfringens is a structural component of spore. Therefore, toxin is produced during spore formation.
• Clostridium perfringens is found in soil, water, dust and intestinal tract of human beings.
• Therefore, it is excreted in stool of healthy individual, from where it contaminates the foods.

Food involved:

• Meat and meat products are mainly associated with food poisoning by Clostridium perfringens.
• It is because it is a normal flora of intestinal tract from where it directly enters into meat.
• In case of other food, it occurs by contamination of bacterial spore from stool, soil, dust, etc.
• Insufficient heating or warming of food stimulates spores for germination.
• Therefore, food which are insufficiently heated and then stored unfrozen are highly susceptible to spoilage.

Pathogenesis of Clostridium perfringens gastroenteritis:

• When contaminated food is ingested, pre-formed enterotoxin as well as viable bacterial cell enter into intestinal tract.
• In intestine Clostridium perfringens multiply and produce further enterotoxin during sporulation.
• Then enterotoxin bind to the cell of intestinal epithelium and enters into intestinal epithelial cell.
• This enterotoxin causes secretion of water and electrolyte from intestinal cell into intestinal lumen and causes diarrhea.
• This enterotoxin is also cytotoxic and kills intestinal epithelial cells.

Disease symptoms of Clostridium perfringens gastroenteritis:

• Incubation period is 8-24hrs.
• Abdominal pain and diarrhea are two typical symptoms.
• In contrast to staphylococcal food poisoning, vomiting is rare.
• The disease is of short duration and usually remains for a day or less.
• Mortality rate is very low and requires high dose of bacteria to be fatal.

Treatment of Clostridium perfringens gastroenteritis:

• Treatment involves giving self-solution to counteract loss of water and electrolyte during diarrhea.

Prevention and control of Clostridium perfringens gastroenteritis:

• Food poisoning by Clostridium perfringens can be prevented by:
• Preventing contamination:
  • For this purpose, sanitary practice is important to prevent contamination of spore of bacteria into food.
• Preventing germination of spore and growth in food:
  • Various methods can be used to prevent germination of spore and multiplication of bacteria in food.
  • One simple method is to freeze food adequately during storage.
• Killing organism before eating food:
  • By heating vegetative cells are easily kill but spores are resistant.
  • γ radiation can be used to kill spore in food just before eating.

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