Abstract
Enterotoxaemia is one of the important pathologies caused by Clostridium perfringens, which produces intestinal and systemic disease in goats, sheep and other animals. These Gram-positive anaerobic bacteria are normally resident in the intestinal tract of ruminants but during favourable conditions, proliferate uncontrollably and release toxins which produce disease in the host. Different strains of C. perfringens are responsible for several clinical syndromes, including lamb dysentery, pulpy kidney disease and struck. However, the pathology and pathogenesis of caprine enterotoxaemia is not well understood, with limited studies available in goats. Caprine enterotoxaemia can be controlled with the better understanding of its risk factors and pathogenesis. The diagnosis of enterotoxaemia in animals is complex and often requires group of tests than one single test for better specificity and sensitivity. Tentative diagnosis of enterotoxaemia in sheep and goats is based on the history, clinical signs and gross lesions during post-mortem examination of animals; however, confirmatory diagnosis of enterotoxaemia requires different laboratory diagnostic tools. Toxin detection of C. perfringens in case of enterotoxaemia is furthermost accepted benchmark in establishing a definitive diagnosis of enterotoxaemia in intestinal contents. Measuring urine glucose or observing Gram-stained smears of intestinal mucosa can be used as supplementary tests. However, it is also imperative that enterotoxaemia cannot be ruled out in the event of negativity of aforementioned diagnostic tests. Hence, definitive diagnosis of enterotoxaemia in goats can be achieved with the use of molecular techniques (PCR, ELISA and immune-fluorescence) coupled with toxin detection in intestine or biological assays including mouse inoculation test (MIT). In case of goats, vaccine efficacy is poor which may be due to need of high to moderate level of serum antibodies to protect against both systemic and enteric effects because intestinal form of disease is partially independent of the circulating anti-toxin antibodies. Thus, for the prevention and control of enterotoxaemia in goats and sheep, these aspects must be considered to develop more holistic control measures.
Highlights
The word “enterotoxaemia” denotes toxaemia of intestinal origin that occurs when toxins produced in the intestines are absorbed into the bloodstream
Sheep enterotoxaemia caused by C. perfringens is well documented; the situation is less clear in goats on account of limited studies carried in the goats
Enterotoxaemia is a devastating disease of sheep and goats throughout the world
Summary
The word “enterotoxaemia” denotes toxaemia of intestinal origin that occurs when toxins produced in the intestines are absorbed into the bloodstream. Enterotoxaemia can be caused by various microorganisms, but the term is most frequently used in relation to the absorption of toxins produced by species of the genus Clostridium [1] [2]. Sheep enterotoxaemia caused by C. perfringens is well documented; the situation is less clear in goats on account of limited studies carried in the goats. It causes sudden death in goats of all age groups [3]. Histopathological changes are not consistently found as in case sheep, and the confirmatory diagnosis of enterotoxaemia is mostly based only on the detection of epsilon toxin in the intestinal contents at significant level. The main contention for protection should encompass effective diagnosis of the C. perfringens toxinotypes during the worst case scenario of vaccination failures or reduced effectiveness of immunization against ET in goats
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