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Journal of Wildlife Diseases, 44(1), 2008, pp. 155-158
© Wildlife Disease Association  2008
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SHORT COMMUNICATION

Occurrence and Prevalence of Clostridium perfringens in Polar Bears from Svalbard, Norway

 Joerg Jores1,5,7, Andrew E. Derocher2,6, Christoph Staubach3 and Ansgar Aschfalk3,4

1 Institut für Mikrobiologie und Tierseuchen, Freie Universität Berlin, Philippstrasse 13, 10115 Berlin, Germany;
2 Norwegian Polar Institute, Polarmiljøsenteret, 9296 Tromsø, Norway;
3 Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Institute of Epidemiology, SeestraBe 55, 16868 Wusterhausen, Germany;
4 Institute of Food Safety and Environment, Section for Arctic Veterinary Medicine, Stakkevollveien 23b, 9292 Tromsø, Norway
7 Corresponding author (email: jores{at}web.de)

ABSTRACT:   To obtain insight into the occurrence and prevalence of Clostridium perfringens and its major toxins in polar bears (Ursus maritimus), we took fecal samples for bacteriologic analysis from live-captured bears in the Svalbard Archipelago, Norway, in 2001. Clostridium perfringens was isolated from 40 of 92 samples (44%). Thirty strains were further characterized by determining toxin type and were classified to be type A, while one was also positive for the gene encoding β2-toxin. Despite the fact that C. perfringens type A has been associated with fatal diseases in several animal species as well as in humans, our data indicate that C. perfringens type A is an normal inhabitant of the gastrointestinal tract of polar bears.
  Key words:  β2-toxin, Clostridium perfringens, polar bear, prevalence, toxin type A, Ursus maritimus.

5 Current address: International Livestock Research Institute, PO Box 30709, Nairobi 00100, Kenya

6 Current address: Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2E9, Canada






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