title: Humans as reservoir for enterotoxin gene--carrying Clostridium perfringens type A.
abstract: We found a prevalence of 18% for enterotoxin gene-carrying (cpe+) Clostridium perfringens in the feces of healthy food handlers by PCR and isolated the organism from 11 of 23 PCR-positive persons by using hydrophobic grid membrane filter-colony hybridization. Several different cpe genotypes were recovered. The prevalence was 3.7% for plasmidial IS1151-cpe, 2.9% for plasmidial IS1470-like-cpe, 0.7% for chromosomal IS1470-cpe, and 1.5% for unknown cpe genotype. Lateral spread of cpe between C. perfringens strains was evident because strains from the same person carried IS1470-like cpe but shared no genetic relatedness according to pulsed-field gel electrophoresis analysis. Our findings suggest that healthy humans serve as a rich reservoir for cpe+ C. perfringens type A and may play a role in the etiology of gastrointestinal diseases caused by this organism. The results also indicate that humans should be considered a risk factor for spread of C. perfringens type A food poisoning and that they are a possible source of contamination for C. perfringens type A food poisoning.
authors.affiliation: University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland. annamari.heikinheimo@helsinki.fi
authors.forename: Annamari
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Heikinheimo
authors.forename: Miia
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lindström
authors.forename: Per Einar
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Granum
authors.forename: Hannu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Korkeala
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002522:Chlorocebus aethiops; D016521:Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field; D004768:Enterotoxins / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D005511:Food Handling; D005517:Foodborne Diseases / Q000209:etiology*; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D014709:Vero Cells
chemical_list: D004768:Enterotoxins; C035598:enterotoxin, Clostridium