Toxin types of Clostridium perfringens isolated from free‐ranging, semidomesticated reindeer in Norway

• Published in: Veterinary Record
• Main Authors: Aschfalk, A., Valentin‐Weigand, P., Goethe, R., Müller, W.
• Other Authors: Den Norges Veterinaerforeningen's faglige/vitenskapelige fond
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2002
• Subjects: General Veterinary; General Medicine; Norway; Northern Norway; Rangifer tarandus; reindeer husbandry
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/vr.151.7.210; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1136%2Fvr.151.7.210; http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/wol1/doi/10.1136/vr.151.7.210/fullpdf

Samples of faeces were taken from 166 healthy domesticated reindeer ( Rangifer tarandus tarandus ) from three flocks in different reindeer husbandry districts in northern Norway and examined bacteriologically for the presence of Clostridium perfringens . The organism was isolated from 98 (59 per cent) of the reindeer. The isolates were classified into C perfringens toxin types by PKR analysis specific for the genes encoding the four major toxins (α, β, ϵ and ι) and were subclassified by the detection of the genes encoding C perfringens β2‐toxin and enterotoxin. All the isolates belonged to C perfringens toxin type A. In addition, 15 of the 98 isolates were PCR‐positive for the β2‐toxin gene, and two of the isolates had the the gene encoding for enterotoxin.