Normally this species are present in the large intestines as commensals but during certain circumstances such as antibiotic administration they are able to proliferate and cause fatal enterotoxaemia. ''Clostridium'' species can be cultured from the lumen of the infected intestine.<br />
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Normally this species are present in the large intestines as commensals but during certain circumstances such as antibiotic administration they are able to proliferate and cause fatal enterotoxaemia. ''Clostridium'' species can be cultured from the lumen of the infected intestine.
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'''Antibiotic-Induced Enterotoxemia'''
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Bacterial overgrowth is associated with enterocolitis, septicemia and death. Antibiotics implicated include penicillin, erythromycin, lincomycin, chlortetracycline, oxytetracycline, bacitracin, dihydrostreptomycin, cefazolin, cephalexin, cephalothin, ampicillin, clindamycin & gentamycin. All of the above species have been implicated as potential causative agents.
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'''Pathology:''' microscopic lesions during necropsy include extensive vascular congestion, submucosal hemorrhage and oedema, and sloughing of the absorptive epithelium throughout the GI tract