Epidemiology and diagnostic accuracy of Clostridium perfringens toxins in the intestinal contents of camels, sheep, and cattle: a cross-sectional study in Dakahlia governorate, Egypt.

This study aimed to establish an accurate epidemiological surveillance tool for the detection of different C. perfringens types from 76 diseased and 34 healthy animals in Dakhalia Governorate, Egypt. A total of 110 intestinal content samples were randomly collected from camels, sheep, and cattle. C. perfringens was isolated and biochemically identified by the VITEK2 system. Toxinotyping and genotyping of C. perfringens isolates were specified by a multiscreen ELISA and real-time qPCR (rt-qPCR). The occurrence of C. perfringens was highest among camels (20% in healthy and 25% in diseased) and was lowest in cattle (23.1% and 14.7%). The cpa toxin was detected in all isolates by rt-qPCR and in 7 isolates by ELISA, ext toxin was detected in 7 isolates by rt-qPCR and in 6 isolates by ELISA, and cpb toxin was detected in 2 isolates by both rt-qPCR and ELISA. Four types of C. perfringens were identified by rt-qPCR, type A (65.2%), B (4.3%), C (4.3%), and D (26.1%), and three types by ELISA, type D (17.4%), A (8.7%) and C (4.3%). Our study indicated the prevalence of infection in Dakahlia by C. perfringens type A and D, particularly camels, and recommends adopting an appropriate vaccination strategy among the studied animals.