ISSN: 0973-7510

E-ISSN: 2581-690X

Research Article | Open Access
Priyanka Rani1, Ananda Chitra Murugesan1 , S. Ramesh2,
S. Jaisree3, P. Jalantha4, M.R. Srinivasan5 and K.G. Tirumurugaan1
1Translational Research Platform for Veterinary Biologicals, Centre for Animal Health Studies, Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (TANUVAS), Madhavaram Milk Colony, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
2Department of Veterinary Pharmacology and Toxicology, Madras Veterinary College, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
3Central University Laboratory, Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (TANUVAS), Madhavaram Milk Colony, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
4Laboratory Animal Medicine, Centre for Animal Health Studies, The Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (TANUVAS), Madhavaram Milk Colony, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
5Department of Veterinary Pharmacology and Toxicology, Veterinary College and Research Institute, Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu, India.
Article Number: 10499 | © The Author(s). 2025
J Pure Appl Microbiol. 2025;19(4):2788-2795. https://doi.org/10.22207/JPAM.19.4.17
Received: 22 April 2025 | Accepted: 30 September 2025 | Published online: 03 November 2025
Issue online: December 2025
Abstract

Clostridium piliforme is an anaerobic, spore-forming, obligate intracellular bacterial pathogen that causes Tyzzer’s disease in laboratory, wild, and domestic animals. C. piliforme has significant economic implications for laboratory and commercial animal facilities due to its impact on research integrity, increased veterinary and management costs, and the need for enhanced biosecurity measures. In the present study, 100 rabbit faecal samples were collected, and nested PCR was performed using C. piliforme specific 16S rRNA primers. C. piliforme was detected in all five rabbit farms, with an overall prevalence of 40%. A statistically significant difference in prevalence was observed among farms. Male faecal samples accounted for only 25% of the total, and although more females (45.33%) were found to be infected, this difference was not statistically significant. Rabbits older than 5 months (42.05%) were more frequently infected than those younger than 5 months (25%), though this was not statistically significant. Breed, weight, rearing system, and feeding type did not influence prevalence. Because 16S rRNA primers may yield nonspecific amplicons, their use in detecting C. piliforme in samples, particularly faeces, should be interpreted in conjunction with clinical signs or gross lesions. Identification of C. piliforme specific gene target primers is urgently needed for effective screening of susceptible populations.

Keywords

Clostridium piliforme, Rabbit, Nested PCR, Molecular Detection

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© The Author(s) 2025. Open Access. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License which permits unrestricted use, sharing, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.