Presence of Clostridium botulinum in Livers of Birds not Affected with Botulism

Abstract

There has been some difference of opinion as to whether or not Clostridium botulinum possesses the ability to invade tissue. The identification of western duck sickness with botulism^{1, 2} gives to this problem considerable hygienic importance, and the morbidity during an epizootic furnishes a sufficient number of birds to subject this problem to statistical analysis.

It has been observed 3 that cultures made from animals dying of lamsiekte contained botulinum in 50% of the cases, while 3% of the animals dying from other causes yielded such positives. During experiments by others regarding the ability of botulinum to produce infection, some evidence indicates that even the detoxified spores can pass from the intestinal tract to the liver. However, the opinion has been expressed that Cl. botulinum does not usually invade the body, but that it may occasionally be recovered from the liver or spleen. In a discussion which also presents the literature, 4 experiments in which detoxified spores were fed and consequent deaths recorded are questioned on the basis that it is extremely difficult to free the spores completely from all traces of toxin. We believe that positive liver cultures produced by the ingestion of detoxified spores may be explained as due to the presence of minute traces of toxin. We have been unable to produce death in pigeons or ducks even with massive doses of detoxified viable spores.

Late in the fall of 1931, 34 ducks were examined after a lead-poisoning outbreak. Since the weather was cold, the dead birds were received in a frozen condition. The live birds were killed and autopsied immediately, the livers being removed aseptically. Toxicity tests and typing experiments showed Cl. botulinum Type C to be present in one of the liver cultures, while Type A was found in 2 cases, one of which was a duck received alive and killed immediately before necropsy.

During the fall of 1932, 2 botulinum cultures were obtained from a group of 5 ducks received from the Minnesota State Conservation Department. One culture was Type B; the other contained Types A and C.