{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,1]],"date-time":"2026-07-01T09:50:47Z","timestamp":1782899447577,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":35,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"13","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,1]],"date-time":"2026-07-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1782864000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100012166","name":"Subproject of the National Key Research and Development Program of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["2023YFD1800704"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2023YFD1800704"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100012166","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Science and Technology Research Project of Higher Education Institutions in Hebei Province","award":["QN2024015"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["QN2024015"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Animals"],"abstract":"<jats:p>This report presents the first case of fatal acute thyroiditis associated with Clostridium perfringens type A in a captive giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) and describes findings consistent with the proposed \u201clocal proliferation\u2013systemic intoxication\u201d pathogenic model. A 5-year-old female giraffe in Hebei Province, China, presented with diarrhea, emaciation, and sudden death. Necropsy revealed marked thyroid enlargement, intestinal mucosal hemorrhage and shedding, and pericardial effusion. C. perfringens type A was isolated from thyroid tissue, and molecular analysis detected the presence of the \u03b1-toxin gene (cpa). Immunohistochemistry detected \u03b1-toxin antigen immunoreactivity in thyroid, lung, liver, and cardiac tissues. Histopathological examination showed severe disruption of thyroid follicular structures and inflammatory cell infiltration, alongside \u03b1-toxin immunoreactivity in multiple organs, including the lungs, liver, and heart. Based on the observed pathological and microbiological findings, we hypothesize a possible pathogenic scenario in which intestinal barrier disruption may facilitate bacterial dissemination and subsequent thyroid colonization. This report expands the known clinical spectrum of C. perfringens infections and provides insights into possible atypical clostridial pathogenic mechanisms in non-classical host species.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ani16132006","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,1]],"date-time":"2026-07-01T08:19:02Z","timestamp":1782893942000},"page":"2006","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Fatal Acute Thyroiditis in a Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) Associated with Clostridium perfringens Type A: A \u201cLocal Proliferation\u2013Systemic Intoxication\u201d Pathogenic Model"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Guoxin","family":"Hao","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Hebei Key Laboratory of Preventive Veterinary Medicine, College of Animal Science and Technology, Hebei Normal University of Science & Technology, Qinhuangdao 066000, China"},{"name":"Clinical Research and Innovation Center for Ruminant Animals, College of Animal Science and Technology, Hebei Normal University of Science & Technology, Qinhuangdao 066000, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zhixin","family":"Fu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Hebei Key Laboratory of Preventive Veterinary Medicine, College of Animal Science and Technology, Hebei Normal University of Science & Technology, Qinhuangdao 066000, China"},{"name":"Clinical Research and Innovation Center for Ruminant Animals, College of Animal Science and Technology, Hebei Normal University of Science & Technology, Qinhuangdao 066000, China"},{"name":"College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jing","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Hebei Key Laboratory of Preventive Veterinary Medicine, College of Animal Science and Technology, Hebei Normal University of Science & Technology, Qinhuangdao 066000, China"},{"name":"Clinical Research and Innovation Center for Ruminant Animals, College of Animal Science and Technology, Hebei Normal University of Science & Technology, Qinhuangdao 066000, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shengxin","family":"Zeng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Hebei Key Laboratory of Preventive Veterinary Medicine, College of Animal Science and Technology, Hebei Normal University of Science & Technology, Qinhuangdao 066000, China"},{"name":"Clinical Research and Innovation Center for Ruminant Animals, College of Animal Science and Technology, Hebei Normal University of Science & Technology, Qinhuangdao 066000, China"},{"name":"College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jingjing","family":"Hu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Hebei Key Laboratory of Preventive Veterinary Medicine, College of Animal Science and Technology, Hebei Normal University of Science & Technology, Qinhuangdao 066000, China"},{"name":"Clinical Research and Innovation Center for Ruminant Animals, College of Animal Science and Technology, Hebei Normal University of Science & Technology, Qinhuangdao 066000, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yongbo","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Hebei Key Laboratory of Preventive Veterinary Medicine, College of Animal Science and Technology, Hebei Normal University of Science & Technology, Qinhuangdao 066000, China"},{"name":"Clinical Research and Innovation Center for Ruminant Animals, College of Animal Science and Technology, Hebei Normal University of Science & Technology, Qinhuangdao 066000, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,1]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"41","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jgar.2021.08.003","article-title":"Antimicrobial resistance profiling and molecular typing of ruminant-borne isolates of Clostridium perfringens from Xinjiang, China","volume":"27","author":"Wang","year":"2021","journal-title":"J. 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