Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
How common is netF toxin Clostridium perfringens in dogs with diarrhea
By Victoria Wessely et al.·Published in Pets·2025·Clinic for Small Animal Internal Medicine, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland, CH·View original on DOAJ →
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Original publication title: Prevalence of <i>Clostridium perfringens</i> Encoding the <i>netF</i> Toxin Gene in Dogs with Acute and Chronic Gastrointestinal Diseases
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs with gastrointestinal issues, including acute hemorrhagic diarrhea, were tested for a harmful bacteria called Clostridium perfringens that produces a toxin known as netF. The study found that nearly half of the dogs with acute hemorrhagic diarrhea had this toxin, while it was much less common in dogs with other types of diarrhea or chronic gastrointestinal diseases. This suggests that the netF toxin may play a significant role in causing severe diarrhea in some dogs. Treatment for these conditions often involves supportive care, such as hydration and medications, but specific treatments would depend on the individual dog's needs.
People also search for: dog diarrhea treatment · Clostridium perfringens in dogs · acute hemorrhagic diarrhea syndrome in dogs
Abstract
Several recent studies have reported a significantly greater prevalence of <i>Clostridium perfringens</i> encoding the novel pore-forming <i>netF</i> toxin gene in dogs with acute hemorrhagic diarrhea syndrome. However, the presence of <i>netF</i> in other canine diarrheal diseases remains poorly characterized. This retrospective, cross-sectional study aimed to describe the prevalence and abundance of <i>netF</i>-positive <i>C. perfringens</i> in fecal samples from 352 dogs with acute and chronic gastrointestinal diseases. Dogs were divided into five groups: acute hemorrhagic diarrhea syndrome (AHDS), acute diarrhea (AD), chronic enteropathy (CE), exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI), and healthy controls (HCs). The abundances of <i>C. perfringens</i> 16S rRNA, the <i>C. perfringens</i> enterotoxin gene and the <i>C. perfringens netF</i> gene in fecal samples were analyzed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction. In total, 7 of 15 (46.7%) dogs with AHDS, 10 of 75 (13.3%) dogs with AD, 2 of 120 (1.7%) dogs with CE, 1 of 12 (8.3%) dogs with EPI, and 1 of 130 (0.8%) HC dogs tested positive for <i>netF</i>. This study provides further evidence that NetF may be a significant contributor to the etiology of AHDS and potentially to a subset of acute nonhemorrhagic diarrhea cases, while it was only rarely detected in chronic gastrointestinal disease phenotypes.
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Search related cases →Original publication on DOAJ: https://doi.org/10.3390/pets2010009