title: The roles of Clostridium difficile and enterotoxigenic Clostridium perfringens in diarrhea in dogs.
abstract: In this prospective study, feces of dogs with diarrhea were compared with feces of normal dogs for the presence of Clostridium difficile, C difficile toxins A and B, C perfringens, and C perfingens enterotoxin (CPE). C difficile toxins A, B, or both were present in feces of 18 of 87 (21%) dogs with diarrhea and 4 of 55 (7%) normal dogs (P = 0.03), whereas CPE was present in the feces of 24 of 87 (28%) dogs with diarrhea and 3 of 55 (5%) normal dogs (P = 0.01). C difficile was isolated from 2 of 87 (2%) dogs with diarrhea but was not isolated from the feces of 55 normal dogs, possibly because of poor survival of the organism in fecal samples. C perfringens was isolated from the feces of 23 of 24 (96%) CPE-positive dogs with diarrhea, 52 of 63 (83%) CPE-negative dogs with diarrhea, and 39 of 55 (71%) CPE-negative dogs with normal feces. No correlation was found between C perfringens spore number and the presence of CPE.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Studies, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Canada. jsweese@uoguelph.ca
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Weese
authors.forename: H R
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Staempfli
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Prescott
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Kruth
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Greenwood
authors.forename: H E
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Weese
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001427:Bacterial Toxins / Q000302:isolation & purification; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016360:Clostridioides difficile / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D003016:Clostridium perfringens / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*; D004285:Dogs; D004768:Enterotoxins / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000662:veterinary; D005260:Female; D008297:Male
chemical_list: D001427:Bacterial Toxins; D004768:Enterotoxins