Molecular identification of different toxinogenic strains of Clostridium perfringens and histo-pathological observations of camels died of per-acute entero-toxaemia

Hafiz Muhammad Ali; Shujaat Hussain; Muhammad Zishan Ahmad; Abu Baker Siddique; Sultan Ali; Mudassar Mohiuddin; Muhammad Ehsan; Muhammad Nadeem; Abdul Qayyum; Riaz Hussain; Iahtasham Khan; Dunia A Al Farraj; Enshad Alzaidi

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e27859

Molecular identification of different toxinogenic strains of Clostridium perfringens and histo-pathological observations of camels died of per-acute entero-toxaemia

Heliyon. 2024 Mar 13;10(6):e27859. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e27859. eCollection 2024 Mar 30.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Veterinary and Animals Sciences, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, 63100, Pakistan.
² Faculty of Veterinary and Animals Sciences, PMAS Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, 46300, Pakistan.
³ Institute of Microbiology, Government College University, Faisalabad, 38000, Pakistan.
⁴ Institute of Microbiology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, 38000, Pakistan.
⁵ Institute of Animal Health, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou, 510640, China.
⁶ Department of Clinical Sciences, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Sub-campus, Jhang, 35200, Pakistan.
⁷ Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

Enterotoxaemia is a severe disease caused by Clostridium perfringens and render high mortality and huge economic losses in livestock. However, scanty information and only few cases are reported about the presence and patho-physiology of enterotoxaemia in camels. The bacterium induces per-acute death in animals due to rapid production of different lethal toxins. The necropsy of camels (per-acute = 15, acute = 3) was conducted at 18 outbreaks of enterotoxaemia in camels in the desert area of Bahawalpur region. At necropsy, the serosal surfaces of visceral organs in the abdominal, peritoneal and thoracic cavities were found to have petechiation with severe congestion. Moreover, both the cut-sections of different visceral organs and the histo-pathological analysis revealed the pathological lesions in heart, lungs, kidneys, spleen, small and large intestines. Grossly, the kidneys were severely congested, hyperemic, swollen and softer in consistency. Under the microscope, different sections of kidneys indicated that the convulated and straight tubules were studded with erythrocytes. In the intestines, there were stunting fusion of crypts and villi. Similarly, various histo-pathological ailments were also observed in the heart, lungs and spleen. At blood agar, the collected samples showed beta hemolytic colonies of C. perfringens that appeared as medium sized rods microscopically and stained positively on Gram staining. Multiplex PCR revealed C. perfringens type A (α and β₂ genes) and D (epsilon gene) and the deaths were found to be significantly higher due to C. perfringens type D compared to those by C. perfringens type A. Hence, it has been concluded that enterotoxaemia in camel affects multiple organs and becomes fatal, if occurred due to C. perfringens type D.

Keywords: Camel; Clostridium; Enterotoxaemia; Histopathology; PCR; Toxin genes.