Which among the following is NOT TRUE regarding Clostridium perfringens causing gas gangrene?
Clostridium Perfringens produces at least 12 distinct toxins, besides many other enzymes and biologically active soluble substances. The 4 major toxins are alpha, beta, epsilon and iota. The alpha toxin is responsible for the profound toxaemia of gas gangrene. It is lethal, demo necrotic and haemolytic. Beta, epsilon and iota toxins have lethal and necrotising propeies. Human infections caused by this organism are - gas gangrene, food poisoning, gangrenous appendicitis, necrotising enteritis, biliary tract infections, endogenous gas gangrene of intra abdominal origin, brain abscess and meningitis, panophthalmitis, thoracic infections, urogenital infections. Do You Know: Nagler reaction: When Cl Perfringens is grown on a medium containing 6%agar, 5% Fildes peptic digest of sheep blood and 20% human serum, with the antitoxin spread on one half of the plate, colonies on the other half without the antitoxin will be surrounded by zone of opacity. There will be no opacity around the colonies on the other half of the plate with the antitoxin due to specific neutralisation of the alpha toxin. Ref: Ananthanarayanan & Paniker's textbook of microbiology Ed 8 Pg - 252.
Clostridium perfringens is the most common cause of gas gangrene
Nagler reaction positive
Most impoant toxin is hyaluronidase
Food poisoning strain of Clostridium perfringens produces heat resistant spores