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. /// Se obtuvo un 75% de aislamientos (62/75) de colonias "parecidas a perfringens" a partir de intestinos de pollos de engorde criados en jaula o en cama nueva o usada durante un período de 5 semanas. De estas colonias se identificaron 11 cepas como Clostridium spp. que fueron cultivadas en medio selectivo especial. De todas las colonias "parecidas a perfringens" cinco cepas fueron identificadas como Clostridium perfringens. Colonias "parecidas a perfringens" no fueron aisladas a partir de aves libres de gérmenes patógenos mantenidas en una unidad de aislamiento. Sin embargo, C. perfringens fué aislado del saco vitelino de un embrión y del intestino de un pollo de 7 días de edad, indicando ésto la posibilidad de transmisión vertical de este patogeno potencial.