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Cited by 43Clostridium difficile and Clostridium perfringens researchGut microbiota and healthVeterinary medicine and infectious diseases

Fatal enterocolitis in Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) caused by Clostridium difficile.

Bojesen, Anders Miki, Olsen, Katharina E.P., Bertelsen, Mads F.·2006·Veterinary Microbiology
DOI 10.1016/j.vetmic.2006.04.025
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Abstract

Two cases of fatal enteritis caused by Clostridium difficile in captive Asian elephants are reported from an outbreak affecting five females in the same zoo. Post mortem examination including histopathology demonstrated fibrinonecrotic enterocolitis. C. difficile was isolated by selective cultivation from two dead and a third severely affected elephant. Four isolates were obtained and found positive for toxin A and B by PCR. All isolates were positive in a toxigenic culture assay and toxin was demonstrated in the intestinal content from one of the fatal cases and in a surviving but severely affected elephant. PCR ribotyping demonstrated that the C. difficile isolates shared an identical profile, which was different from an epidemiologically unrelated strain, indicating that the outbreak was caused by the same C. difficile clone. It is speculated that the feeding of large quantities of broccoli, a rich source of sulforaphane, which has been shown to inhibit the growth of many intestinal microorganisms may have triggered a subsequent overgrowth by C. difficile. This is the first report of C. difficile as the main cause of fatal enterocolitis in elephants. The findings emphasize the need to regard this organism as potentially dangerous for elephants and caution is recommended concerning antibiotic treatment and feeding with diets containing antimicrobials, which may trigger an expansion of a C. difficile population in the gut.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.vetmic.2006.04.025

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  • Clostridial gastrointestinal diseases of animals have been well documented, but primarily in domestic livestock, pets, and captive terrestrial mammals, with few reported cases in terrestrial wildlife, and in captive marine birds and marine mammals.

    “Clostridial gastrointestinal diseases of animals have been well documented, but primarily in domestic livestock, pets, and captive terrestrial mammals (Neiffer, 2001;Bojesen et al., 2006;Rodriguez et al., 2016;Uzal et al., 2016;Capewell et al., 2020;Nyaoke et al., 2020), with few reported cases in terrestrial wildlife (Asaoka et al., 2004;Boujon et al., 2005;Silva et al., 2014), and in captive”

    From Novel Lethal Clostridial Infection in Florida Manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris): Cause of the 2013 Unusual Mortality Event in the Indian River Lagoon (2022) · cites this paper as Bojesen et al., 2006

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Authors
Bojesen, A. M., Olsen, K. E. P., & Bertelsen, M. F.
Affiliations
  • Statens Serum Institut (DK)
  • Copenhagen Zoo (DK)
Corresponding author
Bojesen, Anders Miki
ORCID
Venue
Veterinary Microbiology
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2006-09
Volume
116
Issue
4
Pages
329-335
ISSN
0378-1135 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.vetmic.2006.04.025
OpenAlex
W2051502484
Cited by
43
References
14
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 1 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 4 · 2013: 7 · 2012: 3
FWCI
1.03
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
Locations
  • Veterinary Microbiology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Research at the University of Copenhagen (University of Copenhagen) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Infectious Diseases › Clostridium difficile and Clostridium perfringens research
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Gut microbiota and health
  • Health Sciences › Veterinary › Small Animals › Veterinary medicine and infectious diseases
Keywords
Clostridium difficile, Asian elephant, toxin A and B, PCR ribotyping, sulforaphane, gut microbiota, antibiotic therapy, captive elephants
MeSH terms
Animals, Animals, Zoo, Bacterial Proteins, Bacterial Toxins, Denmark, Disease Outbreaks, Elephants, Enterocolitis, Pseudomembranous, Enterotoxins, Female, Food Contamination, Food Microbiology, Intestines, Polymerase Chain Reaction, Clostridioides difficile, Fatal Outcome, Ribotyping

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