Bacteriological examination was carried out on twenty faecal samples of dogs, 10 from apparently healthy dogs and 10 from dogs showing diarrhoea. The results of anaerobic culture examination of faecal samples of the dogs suffered from diarrhoea revealed the isolation of Cl.per fringens type A (80%), Cl.perfringens type B (50%), Cl.difficile (60%) as well as Cl.fallex and Cl.sporogens (30 and 10%, respectively). Cl.per fringens type A and Cl.sporogens were only isolated from the apparently healthy dogs in an incidence of 40 and 60%, respectively.
Anaerobic culture examination of faecal samples of five children suffering from diarrhoed revealed the presence of Cl.perfringens type A and B and Cl.fallex (60, 20 and 40%, respectively). Cl.difficile was isolated from diseased children for the first time in Egypt in a percentage of 40%. Morer ver, Cl.perfringens type A, Cifallex and Cl.sporogens were isolated from five apparently healthy children at the same percentage of 20%. Fxperimental infection of puppies with Cl.perfringens type A per os showed several clinical symptoms and post mortem lesions characteris tic to this type of infection. The inoculated strain was reisolated from the intestinal contents. The suggested role of dogs in transmitting in fection to human beings was discussed.