Occurrence of necrotic enteritis in a commercial layer flock

Necrotic enteritis (NE), cause by Clostridium perfringens, is one of the leading diseases in poultry industry, which primarily affects the young chicks. The present case reports the incidence of NE in layer birds (42 weeks). The carcass was submitted for detail post-mortem examination. The gross examination revealed petechial haemorrhages on intestinal mucosa and congestion in visceral organs. Microscopic observations showed degeneration and disruption of villi with haemorrhages in lamina propria and severe necrosis with submucosal haemorrhages and leucocytic infiltration in the intestine. The intestinal scrapings were collected and subsequently cultured for the isolation of causative agent. The isolates were identified as Clostridium spp. based on colony and staining characteristics, and further confirmed by detection of alpha toxin gene (402bp) using PCR.