Abstract
An Indian elephant (Elephas maximus) which died of acute fatal myonecrosis was examined to determine the aetiology of the infection. The causative organism was identified as Clostridium perfringens type A. Out of five genes encoding for major toxins (cpa, cpb, etx, iA, and cpe genes) the isolate was found to harbour the cpa gene only, as tested by multiplex polymerase chain reaction. It flanks a 324 base pair segment in the cpa gene, indicating the presence of the alpha toxin gene. The organism was sensitive to amikacin, ampicillin, enrofloxacin, gentamicin and norfloxacin but was resistant to bacitracin, oxytetracycline and tetracycline. The acute malignant nature of the myonecrosis and presence of the alpha toxin gene in the isolate suggested that the myonecrosis, although clinically resembling that caused by C. chauvoei in cases of black quarter, was caused by C. perfringens type A.
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