What is "clostridium perfringens"

clostridium \clostridium\ n. clostridia

1. spindle-shaped bacterial cell esp. one swollen at the center by an endospore.

   Syn: clostridia.

2. [capitalized] a genus of anaerobic, spore-forming motile bacteria of the family Bacillaceae, including several pathogenic species, such as the causative agents of gas gangrene ( Clostridium perfringens), botulism ( Clostridium botulinum), and tetanus ( Clostridium tetani).

n. anaerobic Gram-positive rod bacterium that produces epsilon toxin; can be used as a bioweapon

Clostridium perfringens (formerly known as C. welchii, or Bacillus welchii) is a Gram-positive, rod-shaped, anaerobic, spore-forming pathogenic bacterium of the genus Clostridium. C. perfringens is everpresent in nature and can be found as a normal component of decaying vegetation, marine sediment, the intestinal tract of humans and other vertebrates, insects, and soil. It has the shortest reported generation time of any organism at 6.3 minutes in thioglycollate medium.

C. perfringens is the third most common cause of food poisoning in the United Kingdom and the United States though it can sometimes be ingested and cause no harm.

Infections due to C. perfringens show evidence of tissue necrosis, bacteremia, emphysematous cholecystitis, and gas gangrene, which is also known as clostridial myonecrosis. The toxin involved in gas gangrene is known as α-toxin, which inserts into the plasma membrane of cells, producing gaps in the membrane that disrupt normal cellular function. C. perfringens can participate in polymicrobial anaerobic infections. Clostridium perfringens is commonly encountered in infections as a component of the normal flora. In this case, its role in disease is minor.

The action of C. perfringens on dead bodies is known to mortuary workers as tissue gas and can be halted only by embalming.