Abstract
Background: Clostridium perfringens causes necrotic enteritis (NE) and NetB is a critical pore-forming toxin in the development of this disease in chickens. Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of C. perfringens in organic broiler farms and to assess the presence of netB gene among isolates and its occurrence with respect to NE disease. Materials and Methods: A total of 103 intestinal samples (from eight farms clinically suspected to NE) were collected and evaluated by biochemical tests and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Results: Genotyping results showed the prevalence of 43.69% (n = 45) for C. perfringens. All isolates belonged to type A, and other toxinotypes of bacterium were not detected. Eight isolates (17.78%) from four farms were positive for netB gene. The present study represented the prevalence of the netB gene for the first time in organic broiler farms. Conclusions: The results indicate that the role of netB in the induction of NE needs to be further investigated, to clarify the role of C. perfringens as commensal or pathogenic and to authorize a much better correlation between gene expression of netB toxin and the pathogenic capacity of C. perfringens strains from organic systems.
Highlights
Clostridium perfringens causes necrotic enteritis (NE) and necrotic enteritis toxin B (NetB) is a critical pore-forming toxin in the development of this disease in chickens
C. perfringens was isolated in 43.69% (n = 45) of 103 intestinal samples from all organic broiler farms and the rates of isolation ranged from 18.18% to 64.29% between different farms (Table 2)
Multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) results showed that all isolates belonged to type A and non-enterotoxin producers, harbouring the alpha toxin gene
Summary
Clostridium perfringens causes necrotic enteritis (NE) and NetB is a critical pore-forming toxin in the development of this disease in chickens. Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of C. perfringens in organic broiler farms and to assess the presence of netB gene among isolates and its occurrence with respect to NE disease. The present study represented the prevalence of the netB gene for the first time in organic broiler farms. Clostridium perfringens (C. perfringens), a major enteric pathogen, can lead to both clinical and subclinical disease in broiler chickens.[1] This bacterium was divided to five types (A, B, C, D and E) based on the presence of major toxins (α, β, ε and ι). Subclinical NE is led to a decreased performance (reduced growth, reduced feed efficiency) without mortality, due to the extensive mucosal damage.[9]
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