Clostridium perfringens

Clostridium perfringens (type A) food-borne disease (Clostridium perfringens)

Clinical criteria
Any person with abdominal cramps and diarrhoea

Laboratory criteria
At least one of the following:
- One or more of the following in the above clinical setting:
- Detection of ≥10⁵ colony-forming units of C. perfringens per gram of epidemiologically implicated food
- Direct detection of C. perfringens enterotoxin from faeces
- Demonstration of ≥10⁶ C. perfringens spores per gram of faeces in a specimen taken within 48 hours of the onset of symptoms consistent with food-borne C. perfringens disease in an outbreak setting

Epidemiological criteria
An epidemiological link by exposure to a common source

Case classification
A. Possible case
NA
B. Probable case
Any person meeting the clinical criteria and with an epidemiological link
C. Confirmed case
Any person meeting the clinical and the laboratory criteria

Current as of: 22 January 2019