Prevalence and characterization of Clostridium perfringens in broiler chickens and retail chicken meat in central China

We report that Clostridium perfringens was present in 23.1% (130/562) of broiler chickens and 15.1% (38/252) of retail chicken meat samples in central China. Among 168 isolates, type A was the preponderant genotype, and 3% of isolates were positive C. perfringens enterotoxin (cpe). Among different sources, the prevalence was higher in free-range chickens compared to chickens from intensive poultry farms, but with lower proportions of antimicrobial resistance.