Abstract:
Necropsies were performed on 36 grower pigs that died peracutely on farms in the northern
parts of South Africa. All these pigs were suffering from haemorrhagic enteritis and suspected
toxaemia. Samples of the duodenum, jejunum and ileum were taken for histopathological
examination and a section of ileum was collected for microbiological examination from each
animal. Histological lesions characteristic of enterotoxigenic Clostridium infection were found.
Large, Gram-positive bacilli were sometimes abundant in sections and mucosal smears of the
intestine. However, only 40% of the cultures were positive for Clostridium perfringens.
Description:
A.L. (CS Vet Consultancy) was the project leader and did
most of the post-mortems. B.T.S (University of Pretoria) was
the primary author’s mentor and provided guidance as to
how to approach this study. J.A.P. (University of Pretoria)
was responsible for the microbiology, whilst M.C.W. (James
Cook University) was responsible for the histopathology.
