The occurrence of Clostridium perfringens in the intestine of chicks.
Commercial broiler chicks brooded either on wire or on used or new litter demonstrated a 75% (62/75) incidence of recovery of "perfringens-like" colonies from the intestine during a 5-week period. Eleven Clostridium spp. were identified from among these "perfringens-like" organisms, which were cultured on SPS selective agar medium. Clostridium perfringens was positively identified only infrequently (five isolates) from among the "perfringens-like" colonies. In contrast, "perfringens-like" colonies were not recovered from the intestinal contents of specific-pathogen-free chicks reared in an isolation unit. However, C. perfringens was isolated from the yolk sac of one embryonated egg and from the intestine of a single 7-day-old chick, indicating the possibility of vertical transmission of this potential pathogen.
D000821:Animal Feed; D000818:Animals; D002645:Chickens / Q000382:microbiology*; D003013:Clostridium / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D003016:Clostridium perfringens / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005260:Female; D005430:Floors and Floorcoverings; D005516:Food Microbiology; D005766:Gastrointestinal Contents / Q000032:analysis; D006799:Housing, Animal; D007421:Intestine, Small / Q000382:microbiology*; D008297:Male