General
Clostridium perfringens is an anaerobic, gram positive rod shaped bacterium. As opposed to other members of this genus, C. perfingens does not form spores. Clostridia are ubiquitous and found in soil, decaying vegetation, marine sediment, and the intestinal tract of humans, other vertebrates, and insects. They are also commonly recovered from infected sites but usually as a component of a polymicrobial flora, which makes their role in pathogenesis difficult to establish. Virtually every soil sample ever examined, with the exception of the sands of the Sahara, has been shown to contain C. perfringens.
Infections
C. perfringens is commonly encountered in infections, usually as one component of a polymicrobial flora. Its role in disease, therefore, is minor, unless there is evidence of the production of gas at the site of infection and the production of a specific clostridial toxin. This organism is responsible for bacteremia, emphysematous cholecystitis, and gas gangrene, also known as clostridial myonecrosis.