Abstract: A field study of Clostridium perfringens enumeration methods in the broiler house environment
Clostridium perfringens is an important pathogen of commercial chickens, most notably as the cause of necrotic enteritis (NE).
The hypothesis of this study is that quantifying the clostridium bacterial load present in the environment of a commercial broiler farm should be predictive of the risk that NE may occur. However, there is not a definitive sample type and laboratory procedure for C. perfringens enumeration in the poultry house environment.
This study collected ceca, boot sock and litter samples from 14 different commercial broiler farms when birds were 41 to 45 days of age. Samples were cultured using both a direct Most Probable Number (MPN) assay and an enriched MPN assay.
Results indicated there was no significant correlation between the enriched MPNs of ceca and boot socks (r = 0.18, P = 0.53), ceca and litter (r = 0.18, P = 0.54) or boot socks and litter (r = -0.07, P = 0.80).
Future work will be done to try to establish a baseline for sampling for C. perfringens enumeration that will be beneficial for broiler producers.
This study was conducted by Andrea Zedek, David Smith, Huvepharma, Inc.; Charles Hofacre, Virginia Baxter, Matthew K. Jones, Southern Poultry Research Group, Inc.; and Roy Berghaus, University of Georgia. It was presented at the 2025 International Poultry Scientific Forum.
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