Detection and quantification of four species of the genus Clostridium in infant feces

To determine the composition of Clostridium in the feces of infants approximately 30 days old, we have developed a detection and quantification method of Clostridium paraputrificum, Clostridium perfringens, Clostridium tertium, and Clostridium difficile by species-specific primers. C. perfringens and C. difficile were detected in four fecal samples from 22 infants (18.2%), whereas C. paraputrificum was detected in three samples (16.7%). C. tertium was detected in two samples (9.1%). Moreover, the occurrences of the four species in bottle-and mix-fed infants were relatively higher than in breast-fed infants (P< 0.05). Subsequently, positive samples detected by nested PCR (polymerase chain reaction) were subjected to realtime PCR. The results showed that the numbers of C. paraputrificum, C. perfringens, C. tertium, and C. difficile ranged from about 1x10(5) to 3x10(7) cells/g wet feces.