Labbé R G
University of Massachusetts, Department of Food Science, Amherst 01003.
J Assoc Off Anal Chem. 1991 Jul-Aug;74(4):711-4.
In the United States and Canada, Clostridium perfringens remains a leading cause of bacterial food poisoning in humans. It has been primarily associated with meat and poultry products prepared in food service establishments. Fecal spore levels of 10(6) or more per g are considered indicative of a food poisoning outbreak. However, elevated spore levels of this organism are frequently seen in healthy elderly individuals, an observation that complicates investigations of suspected outbreaks. Recent studies with this population indicate that fecal enterotoxin levels are a valuable and effective assay for confirming outbreaks due to this organism. With regard to the toxin itself, a membrane protein of 50 000-70,000 molecular weight has been isolated as a possible enterotoxin-receptor site. It is the subsequent action of the toxin on membrane structure that results in the loss of ions and fluid associated with illness. In addition, the enterotoxin gene has been cloned in E. coli and sequenced. Using toxin-specific DNA probes, only 6% of non-symptomatic farm animals were found to possess the enterotoxin gene, disproving the hypothesis that all strains of this organism can produce the toxin.
在美国和加拿大，产气荚膜梭菌仍是人类细菌性食物中毒的主要病因。它主要与食品服务机构制备的肉类和禽类产品有关。每克粪便中芽孢含量达到10⁶或更多被认为表明发生了食物中毒暴发。然而，在健康的老年人中经常可以见到这种微生物的芽孢含量升高，这一现象使得对疑似暴发的调查变得复杂。对这一人群的最新研究表明，粪便肠毒素水平是确认由这种微生物引起的暴发的一种有价值且有效的检测方法。关于毒素本身，一种分子量为50000至70000的膜蛋白已被分离出来，作为可能的肠毒素受体位点。正是毒素随后对膜结构的作用导致了与疾病相关的离子和液体流失。此外，肠毒素基因已在大肠杆菌中克隆并测序。使用毒素特异性DNA探针，仅发现6%的无症状农场动物携带肠毒素基因，这一结果推翻了该微生物所有菌株都能产生毒素的假说。
