Detection of Enterotoxin in Faeces and Anti-enterotoxin in Serum after Clostridium perfringens Food-poisoning |
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Authors: | REIDAR SKJELKVÅLE TAKASHI UEMURA |
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Institution: | The Norwegian Food Research Institute, P.O.B. 50, N-1432 ÅS-NLH, Norway |
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Abstract: | Two outbreaks of Clostridium perfringens food-poisoning involving the same person were investigated. In the first, typical symptoms with diarrhoea and abdominal pain were observed. In the second, there were no classical signs of food-poisoning; the victim felt some flatulence and the faeces had a pasty appearance and an unpleasant smell. Counterimmunoelectrophoresis and the reversed passive haemagglutination test were rapid and reliable assay methods for enterotoxin in faeces. In the first outbreak, 13–16 μg enterotoxin/g faeces were detected, and 3–4 μg/g in the second. The detection of enterotoxin in faeces indicates the potential use of enterotoxin tests on diarrhoeal samples for diagnosing C. perfringens food-poisoning. No enterotoxin was detected in serum during the acute stage of the illness, but the antibody titre showed a considerable rise in the first two months after the food-poisoning outbreak. |
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