Table 2. Diseases associated with Clostridium perfringens.

Type of C. perfringens*	Major toxins	Most significant diseases**
A	CPA***	Human and animal myonecrosis (gas gangrene);
	CPA, CPE***	Human food poisoning and non-foodborne gastrointestinal disease; canine gastrointestinal disease
	CPA, NetB***	Necrotic enteritis of poultry
B	CPA, CPB, ETX	Human biodefense concerns (ETX); necro-hemorrhagic enteritis of sheep (lamb dysentery)
C	CPA, CPB***	Human necrotic enteritis (enteritis necroticans, pigbel); necrotic enteritis of neonatal individuals of several animal species (horse, cattle, sheep, pigs)
D	CPA, ETX***	Human biodefense concerns (ETX); enterotoxemia of sheep and goats
E	CPE, ITX	No known association with human disease; suspected, but not confirmed association with gastrointestinal disease of cattle, sheep and rabbits.

^*All types of C. perfringens may also produce several other toxins, including, but not limited to, CPB2, PFO, and TpeL. **Only diseases that have been confirmed to be associated with each type of C. perfringens, and that are significant in terms of prevalence, are included in this table. ***Critical toxin for virulence. PFO also contributes to virulence during myonecrosis (see text). Some type C, D, and E strains also produce CPE.