title: Some factors affecting isolation of Clostridium tetani from human and animal stools.
abstract: Clostridium tetani was isolated from human and animal stools at the following rates [95% confidence interval (CI)]: Human, 0% (1.5-0); horse, 1% (5-0); cow in cowshed, 4% (10-1); cow in pasture, 8.3% (17-1), calf in pasture, 0% (7-0); dog, 2% (11-0) and sheep in pasture, 25% (44-14). Quantification of C. tetani in 16 animal stools positive for the bacillus was impossible in most cases, as the number of tetanus bacilli present was not large enough for this purpose. Contaminating anaerobic and facultative anaerobic bacteria in human and animal stools, i.e., C. perfringens and Streptococcus sp., Group G, inhibited isolation of C. tetani from these materials, particularly at the step of isolation employing its swarming character.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Toho University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ebisawa
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Takayanagi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kigawa
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D001421:Bacteria, Anaerobic / Q000302:isolation & purification; D002417:Cattle; D003016:Clostridium perfringens / Q000302:isolation & purification; D003017:Clostridium tetani / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D003470:Culture Media; D004285:Dogs; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000302:isolation & purification; D000431:Ethanol; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology*; D006736:Horses; D006358:Hot Temperature; D006801:Humans; D012756:Sheep; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000302:isolation & purification; D013291:Streptococcus / Q000302:isolation & purification
chemical_list: D003470:Culture Media; D000431:Ethanol