Publikationsdatenbank

Occurrence and prevalence of Clostridium perfringens in polar bears from Svalbard, Norway (2008)

Art

Zeitschriftenartikel / wissenschaftlicher Beitrag

Autoren

Jores, Joerg

Derocher, Andrew E

Staubach, Christoph

Aschfalk, Ansgar

Quelle

Journal of wildlife diseases / Wildlife Disease Association

Bandzählung: 44

Heftzählung: 1

Seiten: 155 – 158

ISSN: 0090-3558

Sprache

Englisch

Verweise

Pubmed: 18263831

Kontakt

Institut für Mikrobiologie und Tierseuchen

Robert-von-Ostertag-Str. 7-13
14163 Berlin
+49 30 838 51843 / 66949
mikrobiologie@vetmed.fu-berlin.de

Abstract / Zusammenfassung

To obtain insight into the occurrence and prevalence of Clostridium perfringens and its major toxins in polar bears (Ursus maritimus), we took fecal samples for bacteriologic analysis from live-captured bears in the Svalbard Archipelago, Norway, in 2001. Clostridium perfringens was isolated from 40 of 92 samples (44%). Thirty strains were further characterized by determining toxin type and were classified to be type A, while one was also positive for the gene encoding beta2-toxin. Despite the fact that C. perfringens type A has been associated with fatal diseases in several animal species as well as in humans, our data indicate that C. perfringens type A is an normal inhabitant of the gastrointestinal tract of polar bears.