Immediate postnatal inoculation of a microbial barrier to prevent neonatal diarrhea induced by Clostridium difficile in young conventional and gnotobiotic hares.

The cecal content of a healthy young hare (a 10-fold dilution prepared in anaerobiosis) was transferred into gnotobiotic recipient mice. The fecal flora of recipient mice was inoculated into 49 conventional young hares (kept in a closed building) immediately after birth. All the inoculated hares survived until weaning whereas 35% of 48 non-treated conventional hares died of diarrhea. Clostridium difficile and C perfringens were present in all the diarrheal noninoculated hares, whereas these species were present only in 50% of healthy inoculated or noninoculated hares at low concentrations (less than 10(6)/g of feces). A microbial barrier effect against challenge-exposure strains of C difficile and C perfringens was evidenced in the intestinal tract of recipient gnotobiotic mice and young hares. Seemingly, the protective effect of the microbial inoculum was due to antagonisms exerted against C difficile and C perfringens in the intestinal tract of inoculated conventional hares.