Clostridial infection are rising at steady pace in India with inclusion of antibiotics in feed and intensive farming as well as indiscriminate therapeutic use of antibiotics in animals and birds.

1. Sawita Kumari Patel
Division of Veterinary Public Health
&
Bhoj R Singh
Division of Epidemiology, ICAR-IVRI, Izatnagar-
243122, India

2. Disease Etiology Host affected
Black Quarter C. chauvoei
C. septicum
C. novyi type B
Cattle, Buffalo,
Sheep, Goat,
Farmed bison, Deer
Enterotoxaemia C. perfringens
Type B, C & D
Sheep, Goat,cattle,
Camel, Horse, Pig
Tetanus C. tetani Horse, Man,
Ruminant, Pig
Necrotic enteritis C. perfringens
Type A & C
Chicken, Turkey,
Haemorrhagic
enteritis
C. difficile Dog, Cat, Pig, Horse,
Poultry
(Quinn et al., 2002)

3. Black Quarter
(Black leg/Quarter ill/ Symptomatic anthrax)
• Disease occur in cattle of 6 months to 2 years of age whereas and in sheep of all
age group. It is soil borne infection, mostly affecting in rainy season in areas
with moderate rainfall or in regions of dry crop cultivation. Disease is
widespread in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Maharashtra and
sporadically occurs in Northern and Eastern state of India. Maximum outbreaks
occurred in the year 2009-10 in west Bengal with total of 95 outbreaks,
affecting 293 animals with 122 deaths. In the same year in Maharashtra 37
outbreaks, attacking 128 heads with 96 deaths. Sporadic outbreaks reported
from other state including MP, J&K, and Tamil Nadu. Next to cattle disease
affects Buffalo & Sheep. Trends indicated gradual decrease in disease
occurrence from 2006 to 2010 (Rahman, 2011).
• The incidence of Black Quarter remained highest during summer season (33.03
percent), followed by winter season (28.34 per cent). This may be due to the
exposure of animals to stress condition due to non-availability of food
resources.

4. Trends of Black Quarter (BQ)
• Year 2009-10
• Sporadic outbreaks - MP, J&K, Tamil Nadu
• Outbreaks trends - gradual decrease from 2006-2010
(Rahman , 2011)
State Total
outbreak
Attacks Death
West Bengal 95 293 122
Maharashtra 37 128 96

5. Seasonality of BQ in Bovine in
Tamil Nadu
Disease Black quarter
Summer (March-May) 14.53
(33.03%)
Pre monsoon (Jun-Aug) 7.2
(16.63%)
Monsoon (Sep-Nov) 9.3
(21.48%)
Winter season (Dec-Feb) 12.27
(28.34%)
Total 43.3
(100%)
( Shivakumar et al., 2012)

6. (Rajasekhar, 2005)
Outbreaks of Black Quarter in AP
during 1994-2004

7. BQ in Andhra Pradesh
(Rajasekhar , 2005)

8. BQ in Bidar District Karnataka
(Romarau & Rao, 1990)
incidence
Year

9. Outbreaks of BQ in Maharashtra (2011-13)
(Monthly report, Division of Epidemiology
IVRI)

10. Outbreaks of BQ in Gujarat (2011-12)
(Monthly report, Division of Epidemiology
IVRI)

11. Outbreaks of BQ in Himachal Pradesh
(Batta et al., 1995)
Total
population
of animal
Affected
animal
Morbidity
rate
Case
fatality
rate
Time
150 Buffaloes-12
Bullock-8
15% 90% Last week of
September

12. Outbreaks of BQ in Haryana
• During last decade (2008-09)
( AH & D, Haryana 2008-09)
Outbreaks Death Severely
affected
At risk
5 6 26 6,327

13. Outbreaks of BQ in Ludhiana Punjab
• Sporadic outbreaks - HF cross bred
• Age - 3 year
• Total number of animal affected- 75
(Zahid et al., 2012)

14. Diagnosis
• Clinical History & Clinical signs
• Serological test- FAT
• Biochemical test- increase in level of LDH,
SGOT, SGPT
• Isolation of causal organism from heart blood,
peritoneal fluid, affected muscle in Robertson's
cooked meat medium
• Biological test - guinea pig inoculation
• PM finding
(Quinn et al., 2002)

15. Treatment & Control
• Treatment:
– Penicillin -@ 10,000 IU/kg Bwt b.i.d. for 3-5 days
– Esgipyrine L.A -@ 3-5 amp I/m in alternate day
• Control
– Isolation of infected animal
– Cleaning and disinfection of farm premises
– Burning of carcass
– Vaccination with formalin killed bacterin vaccine-
• at age of 4 weeks-3 month
• Booster after 21 days
• Every year
(Quinn et al., 2002)

16. Enterotoxaemia
• Fifth most prevalent disease in the India.
• Caused by Clostridium perfringens.
• Mostly occur in Per acute form with heavy mortality
and huge economic loss.
• It is a toxicoinfection associated with toxin
production in intestine after infection.
• Grazing on lush pastures and good nutritional
condition are predisposing factors and
• Disease is also known as Overeating disease.
• .
(Rajasekhar, 2005)

17. Type D Enterotoxaemia
• (Pulpy kidney disease/
Overeating disease/
Diabetic coma)
 Mostly affect- sheep
 Less frequently - goat
 Rarely - cattle
• Most common in -young
lamb < 2 weeks of age
• Disease is restricted to-
Single lamb or lambs
reared under- Feedlot
condition (Henry et al., 2014)

18. Enterotoxaemia caused by C perfringens type B & C
Disease Clostridium
perfringens
Host
Lamb dysentery Type B Lamb<3 week
Calf enterotoxaemia Type B &C Well fed calf < 1 month
Pig enterotoxaemia Type C Piglet first few days of life
Foal enterotoxaemia Type B Foal first week of life
Struck Type C Adult sheep
Goat enterotoxaemia Type C Adult Goat
(Henry et al., 2014)

19. Outbreaks of Enterotoxaemia in Andhra
Pradesh during 1994-2004
(Rajasekhar , 2005)

20. Enterotoxaemia in Andhra Pradesh
(Kumar et al., 2014)
Flock No. of
sample
C. perfringens
isolated
Type of C.perfringens
Suspected
for disease
140 /208 97 of 140
(69.2%)
Type A- 7.01% (65/97)
Type B- 11.34% (11 /97)
Type D -21.65% (21/ 97)
Healthy 68/208 27 of 68
(39.71%)
Type A- 92.59% (25 / 27)
Type D- 7.4% (2 / 27)

21. Enterotoxaemia in Goat in Tamil Nadu
• First outbreak - January 1997.
• Common in- lambs between 3-10 weeks of age
• C. perfringens type D was isolated & presence
of epsilon toxin was confirmed.
( Prabhakar et al., 1999)

22. Enterotoxaemia in Camel in Haryana
• In1984 – 4 of the 100 adult camels died within 24-48 h after onset of
clinical signs.
• C. perfringens type A & C. novyi type A were confirmed as causal
organism.
• First record of enterotoxaemia in camel in India. (Chauhan et al., 1985)
• During 2004-05 Enterotoxaemia in sheep and goat
in Haryana
Outbreak Animal at
risk
Severely
affected
Death
16 2,252 635 416
(AH&D Haryana ,2008-09)

23. Sheep Mortality After Enterotoxaemia
Vaccination in Rajasthan 1997
( Singh et al., 1999)
District Vaccinated
animal
Death % of death
Bikaner 1441 172 12
Churu 535 57 10.6
Mortality was higher in lambs than adult.

24. States State Year No. of animal
affected
No. of deaths
Gujarat Nov 2012 26 8
Gujarat Feb 2013 18 2
Andhra Pradesh (PP) May 2013 20 4
Maharashtra Oct 2013 2 2
AP Nov 2013 5 5
AP Dec 2013 4 4
AP Dec 2013 3 3
AP Dec 2013 52 20
AP 2014 2 2
Telangana 2014 1 1
Outbreak of Enterotoxaemia from 2012-2014 in Different
states of India
(Monthly Report, Division of Epidemiology , IVRI)

25. Outbreak of Enterotoxaemia in
Telangana 2015
(Monthly report, Division of Epidemiology, IVRI)

26. Enterotoxaemia in Orissa Goat
• In 1993, out of 90 Black Bengal & Ganjam breeds of
goat 7 (2 were of 6 month age & 5 were of 5-7 years
of age) died due to enterotoxaemia.
• C. perfringens D was isolated from intestinal
contents
( Parhi et al., 1993)

27. Control & Prevention of Enterotoxaemia
• Avoid sudden change in feed from range or
pasture to feedlot .
• Deworming prior to vaccination.
• Vaccination- First vaccine at 6-8 weeks of age
• Booster after 3-4 week.
• Lambs/ kids from not–vaccinated dams should
be vaccinated at1-3 weeks of age and
booster
vaccinated at 3-4 weeks of age.
(Quinn et al., 2002)

28. Necrotic Enteritis in Chicken
• Necrotic enteritis was first described in Paris in
1961.
• Caused by C.perfringens type A or C
• Primarily affects -Chicken &Turkey broiler
stocks up to12 weeks of age.
(Quinn et al., 2002)
• Often associated with heavy antibiotic in feed.
• Aflatoxin contamination in feed.
• Persistent Coccidial infection.
• Necrotic enteritis is emerged as worldwide problem
& common disease found in all poultry growing
area of the world.
( Shanmugasamy et al., 2012)

29. Incidence of Necrotic Enteritis in
Jabalpur (M. P.)
• 93.75% birds affected were < 8 weeks of age
• Maximum cases were among broiler of 3-4
week of age and layers of 7-8 weeks of age.
(Shukla et al., 2007)
Birds No. of deaths Intensity of
disease
Broiler 51 53.13%
Layer 30 46.87%

30. Outbreak of Necrotic Enteritis in
Chhattisgarh (2013)
(Sannat et al., 2014)
state breed No. of death
Chhattisgarh Van raja 35/400
Mortality was 8.75%.
•This was first record of necrotic enteritis in Chhattisgarh.

31. Outbreak of Necrotic enteritis in
Guwahati (Assam)
• Feb 1993 - March 1995
• Isogenic strains C. perfringens type A were
isolated from 44 birds.
(Das et al., 2001)
% of C.perfringens type A Age of birds (weeks)
22.73% 4
15.19% 5
13.64% 3
Birds No. of birds Incidence of disease
Broiler 190 77.27%
Layer 80 22.73%

32. Incidence of necrotic enteritis in
Duck in Assam
• During Dec 2007 to June 2009 only one
out of 134 cases of duck mortality was
attributed to necrotic enteritis. It was a two
months old duck.
(Pathak et al., 2011)
Six broiler died out of flock of 268 (2.2%) at
age of 2-3 weeks.
Outbreak of Necrotic Enteritis in Meghalaya -2006

33. Outbreak of Necrotic enteritis in
Tamil Nadu
• In 2012, C. perfringens isolated from intestinal
content of 20 of the 35 birds.
(Shanmugasamy, 2012)
Birds Age No of birds from which C.
perfringens was isolated
Broiler 2-6 week 14 /20
Layer 9-15 week 6/20

34. Mixed infection of Coccidia & Necrotic
Enteritis in Tamil Nadu
• Outbreak of bloody diarrhea in 2014.
(Jayachitra, 2014)
Breed of
birds
Age of
birds
No. of
birds
Mortality
rate
Morbidity
rate
Giriraja 8 week 972 53%. 13%

35. Necrotic Enteritis in Poultry in
West Bengal
• October 1983 – January 1984.
• Treatment with chlortetracycline helped in
controlling the outbreak.
(Chakraborty.,1984)
Age of birds Morbidity rate Mortality rate
3- 6 months 16-80%. 30-90%

36. Diagnosis of Enterotoxaemia &
Necrotic enteritis
• History of illness
• Clinical signs
• Isolation of organism using Robertson cooked meat
media: Meat pieces turns pink.
• Stormy fermentation & acid clot in litmus milk.
• Haemolytic colonies on Blood agar.
• Detection of lecithinase activity of alpha toxin on
Egg Yolk Medium (Nagler’s Reaction).
• Arrow head haemolysis between C. perfringens &
Group B Streptococcus is characteristic.

37. Control& Prevention of Necrotic Enteritis
• Avoid induction of changes in the intestinal micro flora by sudden/ drastic
change of feed or by adding antibiotics in the feed –
 Virginiamycin (20 g/ton feed),
 Bacitracin (50 g/ton feed)
 Lincomycin (2 g/ton feed)
 Ionophore-class anticoccidial
• Minimize the level of fishmeal, wheat, barley, or rye in the diet.
• Probiotics or competitive exclusion cultures.
• Treatment to be administered in drinking water-
 Bacitracin (200–400 mg/gal. for 5–7 days)
 Penicillin (1,500,000 u/gal. for 5 days)
 Lincomycin (64 mg/gal. for 7 days)
• Moribund birds should be removed. ( Hargis, 2014)

38. Clostridium difficile
• Faecal sample of 48 / 93 dogs (53%) were
positive for Clostridium difficile.
• Affects non human mammals (neonates).
• Outbreak reported in piglets, calves, foals
• Infection in piglets at 1-7 days of age.
• Morbidity rate: 10-90%
• Case fatality rate: 10%
(Weese et al)
(Viswanathan, 2010)

39. Tetanus
• Also called Lock jaw
• Horse & Man- Highly susceptible
• Ruminant & Pig- Moderately susceptible
• Carnivores- Comparatively resistant
• Poultry- Not susceptible to tetanus
(Quinn et al., 2002)

40. Tetanus Outbreak in Sheep in Karnataka
Tetanus outbreaks in 5 districts due to ear tagging.
• Disease affected: 5-8% of tagged animal.
• Deaths > 70 animals after 7-10 days of tagging.
• High case fatality rate: >90%.
• Treatment resulted in recovery in a few cases:
penicillin, analgesic, antihistaminic drugs, recovery
in ~25% animal. ( Chandranaik et al., 2008)

41. Incidence of Postoperative Tetanus in
Canine in Calcutta
• Oct-Dec 1994 a total of 47 adult stray bitches
were spayed.
• On 3rd
to 16th post operative days – 6 cases of
tetanus were observed.
• On 5th
, 6th
, 8th
postoperative day 3 of the cases
died.
• Treatment administered was- Tetanus antitoxin
5000 IU I/V for first 2 days and then I/M for 3-4 days
(Das et al., 1997)