Diagnosis of Enteritis and Enterotoxemia due to Clostridium Difficile in Captive Ostriches (Struthio Camelus)

Ostriches are increasing in number on farms in North America, and a large number of eggs are being hatched in quarantine stations to provide for this industry.4,5 Excessive losses of young chicks are not uncommon at these facilities.16 Enteritis in ostrich chicks has been ascribed to Salmonella and coronavirus infections.3,16 A report of infection with Clostridium chauvoei has recently been described in ostriches with neurologic signs, but there are no published accounts of clostridial enteritis in ratites.9 Clostridial enterotoxemia has been frequently associated with necrotizing enterocolitis in poultry and has been reported in other avian species, including ducks, pheasants, and swans.2,10 Clostridium perfringens has been the most common agent involved in these cases, and contaminated food, water, or bedding have often been implicated as the source(s) of infection.2,10 Clostridial enterotoxemia due to C. difficile is a common cause of acute mortality in Syrian hamster colonies and has been reported in humans, rabbits, guinea pigs, horses, and cattle .1,6-8,1 1-5 The disease typically affects neonates, geriatrics, or animals with compromised gastrointestinal function and results in profound diarrhea and often death.7,8,12,14 Clostridium difficile is a normal inhabitant of the gastrointestinal tract of many species of mammals and has been isolated from bird feces; 1 it is the most common pathogenic enteric clostridial organism in humans.1,11 Household pets (partic- ularly dogs and cats) can be carriers and an occasional source of infection for human patients.1,15 In some parts of Africa, the disease is endemic, and soil contamination has been incriminated as the source.11 In this report, an outbreak of necrotizing enteritis and acute death is described in a group of 160 captive ostriches (Struthio camelus) in which the etiology was identified as Clostridium difficile enterotoxemia.A US Department of Agriculture sanctioned quarantine station had an acute outbreak of diarrhea in a flock of 9-dayold ostriches that had been hatched from eggs imported from Africa.After developing diarrhea, the chicks rapidly became moribund.Within 3 days of the onset of clinical signs, all but 7 of the original 160 birds had died.The ostrich chicks were housed in an indoor air-conditioned facility in large corrals with concrete floors and were fed a commercial ratite diet a and powdered alfalfa.The birds were also given a commercial vitamin supplement and sulfamerazine.Multiple fecal examinations were negative for parasites and protozoa.Hematologic and serum biochemical values were within ex-