Persistent High Numbers of Clostridium perfringens in the Intestines of Japanese Aged Adults

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Abstract
TSN agar was applicable for enumeration of C. perfringens in fecal samples of adults but not in those of infants. Some healthy aged adults persistently carried C. perfringens at levels from 107-109, while others ranged from 103-106/ml volume of fecal sample although all of these adults had the same diets. In the test for agglutinability of isolates of C. perfringens collected from 2 elderly adults, a younger adult and a baby, most of the isolates obtained from an aged adult of high levels for 19 mo. belonged to the same serotype, while rapid alteration of serotypes could be observed in 3 other persons with high or low levels. Despite as many as 109 C. perfringens/ml of feces, no trace of .alpha.-toxin could be detected in the fecal samples. In in vitro tests, fecal suspension suppressed the production of .alpha.-toxin although it allowed the organism to grow sufficiently.