Clostridium species
To view the entire topic, please log in or purchase a subscription.
Official website of the Johns Hopkins Antibiotic (ABX), HIV, Diabetes, and Psychiatry Guides, powered by Unbound Medicine. Johns Hopkins Guide App for iOS, iPhone, iPad, and Android included. Explore these free sample topics:
-- The first section of this topic is shown below --
MICROBIOLOGY
- Clostridia produce the largest number of toxins of any bacterial class.
- The common source of entry in humans is the gastrointestinal tract or trauma.
- Obligate anaerobic bacteria with unusual features: spore formation, toxin production and normally reside in the environment or the gastrointestinal tract of humans and animals. Dominant form in the human intestinal flora.
- Belongs to phylum Firmicutes, which is the dominant component of the fecal microbiome. Clostridia spp. account for 50% or about 1013/gm stool.
- Species-specific toxin expression:
- Botulism (C. botulinum)
- Colitis (C. difficile)
- Tetanus (C. tetani)
- Septic abortion (C. sordellii)
- Gas gangrene (C. perfringens, C. novyi, C. septicum, C. sordellii, C. histolyticum)
- Clostridial food poisoning (C. perfringens)
- Non-toxigenic strains are often components of mixed infections or bacteremia; pathogenic role often unclear.
Clostridia | Toxin | Disease |
Gastrointestinal tract | ||
| Enterotoxin | Food intoxication, diarrhea, sudden infant death |
Beta toxin | Necrotic enteritis | |
| Ted A + Ted B | Antibiotic-associated diarrhea + colitis |
| Alpha | Intestinal myonecrosis |
| BoNT/A, B, E | Human botulism |
Wound-related diseases | ||
| alfa toxin | Gangrene, Puerperal sepsis |
| Tcsl, Tcstl | Gangrene |
| TeNT | Tetanus |
| Alpha-novyi | Gangrene |
| BoNT/A + B | Wound botulism |
* Adapted from Popoff MR, Bouvel P; Future Microbio 2009; 4: 1021[9] | ||
TeNT - Tetanus toxin; BoNT - Botulinum neurotoxin; TcsH - C. sordellii hemorrhagic toxic; TcsL - C. sordellii lethal toxin; TcdA, alpha-toxin; TedB - Beta toxin | ||
-- To view the remaining sections of this topic, please log in or purchase a subscription --
MICROBIOLOGY
- Clostridia produce the largest number of toxins of any bacterial class.
- The common source of entry in humans is the gastrointestinal tract or trauma.
- Obligate anaerobic bacteria with unusual features: spore formation, toxin production and normally reside in the environment or the gastrointestinal tract of humans and animals. Dominant form in the human intestinal flora.
- Belongs to phylum Firmicutes, which is the dominant component of the fecal microbiome. Clostridia spp. account for 50% or about 1013/gm stool.
- Species-specific toxin expression:
- Botulism (C. botulinum)
- Colitis (C. difficile)
- Tetanus (C. tetani)
- Septic abortion (C. sordellii)
- Gas gangrene (C. perfringens, C. novyi, C. septicum, C. sordellii, C. histolyticum)
- Clostridial food poisoning (C. perfringens)
- Non-toxigenic strains are often components of mixed infections or bacteremia; pathogenic role often unclear.
Clostridia | Toxin | Disease |
Gastrointestinal tract | ||
| Enterotoxin | Food intoxication, diarrhea, sudden infant death |
Beta toxin | Necrotic enteritis | |
| Ted A + Ted B | Antibiotic-associated diarrhea + colitis |
| Alpha | Intestinal myonecrosis |
| BoNT/A, B, E | Human botulism |
Wound-related diseases | ||
| alfa toxin | Gangrene, Puerperal sepsis |
| Tcsl, Tcstl | Gangrene |
| TeNT | Tetanus |
| Alpha-novyi | Gangrene |
| BoNT/A + B | Wound botulism |
* Adapted from Popoff MR, Bouvel P; Future Microbio 2009; 4: 1021[9] | ||
TeNT - Tetanus toxin; BoNT - Botulinum neurotoxin; TcsH - C. sordellii hemorrhagic toxic; TcsL - C. sordellii lethal toxin; TcdA, alpha-toxin; TedB - Beta toxin | ||
There's more to see -- the rest of this topic is available only to subscribers.