Comparative virulence of porcine Haemophilus bacteria.

The virulence of strains of Haemophilus pleuropneumoniae serotype 1, 2, 3, 7 and strains of the "minor-group" and Haemophilus parasuis were compared by inoculating specific pathogen-free pigs into the lower airways with specified doses of bacteria. Haemophilus pleuropneumoniae, strain W, serotype 1, given in 1 X 10(8) colony-forming units, produced a lethal acute pleuropneumonia in four pigs. Nonlethal localized pulmonary necrosis was induced in four groups of two pigs given 1 X 10(7), 1 X 10(6), 1 X 10(5) and 1 X 10(4) respectively of the same strain. Two groups of four pigs developed chronic lesions when inoculated with 1 X 10(7) colony-forming units of H. pleuropneumoniae, strain Shope 4074, serotype 1 and 1 X 10(7) colony-forming units of H. pleuropneumoniae, strain WF83, serotype 7, respectively. Of 20 pigs given 1 X 10(8) colony-forming units of strain 1536, serotype 2, two died of acute pleuropneumonia and 18 had lesions of pulmonary necrosis or abscessation and pleuritis. A dose of 4 X 10(9) colony-forming units of strain BC181, serotype 3, induced pulmonary necrosis similar to the lesions in pigs given 10(7) colony-forming units or less of strain W, serotype 1, suggesting that the serotype 3 strain is less virulent. No clinical signs, but focal areas of pulmonary fibrosis and pleural adhesions were induced in four pigs inoculated with 4 X 10(9) colony-forming units of the "minor-group" strain 7ATS. Similarly, four pigs inoculated with "minor-group" strain 33PN did not show clinical signs, but had focal necrotic and fibrotic pulmonary lesions and pleural adhesions.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

The pathology of experimental respiratory infection with Pasteurella multocida and Bordetella bronchiseptica in rabbits

Groups of female New Zealand White rabbits, 8-10 weeks old, were inoculated intranasally with three different Pasteurella multocida serotypes (A:3, A:4 and A:12) or one of three Bordetella bronchiseptica strains of rabbit origin. Seven out of 18 rabbits died of experimental infection with P. multocida. B. bronchiseptica killed 3 out of the 8 animals inoculated with it. Deaths occurred between 3 and 6 days postinoculation (PI). In the rabbits that died of P. multocida inoculation, necropsy and histology revealed severe pleuritis with the accumulation of a remarkable amount of fibrinopurulent exudate in the thoracic cavity, serous rhinitis and tracheitis, acute hepatitis with necrotic foci in the parenchyma, and atrophy of the lymphoid organs and tissues. Rabbits killed 10 days PI developed only subacute serous rhinitis and hyperplasia of the lymphoid tissues. Rabbits that died of B. bronchiseptica inoculation showed acute serous rhinitis, acute catarrhal-fibrinopurulent pneumonia and mild pleuritis. As opposed to P. multocida inoculated animals, hepatitis and atrophy of the lymphoid tissues were not characteristic of these rabbits. Rabbits killed 10 days PI developed subacute purulent and necrotic pneumonia with remarkable macrophage proliferation, involving all lobes, and hyperplasia of the lymphoid tissues.     

Experimental atrophic rhinitis in 2 and 4 month old pigs infected sequentially with Bordetella bronchiseptica and toxigenic type D Pasteurella multocida.

Experimental infections with Bordetella bronchiseptica and/or toxigenic type D Pasteurella multocida were studied in 2- and 4-month-old primary specific-pathogen-free pigs. None of the 2-month-old pigs inoculated with B. bronchiseptica or P. multocida alone developed turbinate atrophy. All the pigs inoculated with B. bronchiseptica (10(7) CFU/head) and P. multocida (10(9) CFU/head for 5 consecutive days) together, however, developed clinical and post-mortem signs of atrophic rhinitis (AR) similar to the naturally occurring disease. Slight to severe turbinate atrophy was observed in the 4-month-old pigs inoculated with B. bronchiseptica and P. multocida (at the same concentration as above) at necropsy.     

Bordetella bronchiseptica and toxigenic type D Pasteurella multocida as agents of severe atrophic rhinitis of swine

Bordetella bronchiseptica and toxigenic type-D Pasteurella multocida were cultured from pigs in each of five herds diagnosed as having severe atrophic rhinitis (AR). B. bronchiseptica alone, P. multocida alone, or both organisms isolated from four herds were inoculated intranasally into 1-week-old gnotobiotic pigs which were necropsied 4 weeks post-inoculation (PI). Nasal turbinate atrophy in B. bronchiseptica-inoculated pigs was moderate to severe, while P. multocida-inoculated pigs had slight to severe atrophy. Pigs inoculated with both organisms had moderate to complete turbinate atrophy. P. multocida was reisolated at necropsy from all pigs receiving the organism except those having no turbinate damage. B. bronchiseptica and P. multocida from a fifth herd were simultaneously inoculated into six naturally farrowed 6-day-old SPF pigs. Necropsy performed 4 weeks PI revealed severe to complete turbinate atrophy. Nasal turbinates were normal for control pigs in both experiments.     

A serotype-specific polymerase chain reaction for identification of Pasteurella multocida serotype 1

A serotype-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay was developed for detection and identification of Pasteurella multocida serotype 1, the causative agent of avian cholera in wild waterfowl. Arbitrarily primed PCR was used to detect DNA fragments that distinguish serotype 1 from the other 15 serotypes of P. multocida (with the exception of serotype 14). Oligonucleotide primers were constructed from these sequences, and a PCR assay was optimized and evaluated. PCR reactions consistently resulted in amplification products with reference strains 1 and 14 and all other serotype 1 strains tested, with cell numbers as low as 2.3 cells/ml. No amplification products were produced with other P. multocida serotypes or any other bacterial species tested. To compare the sensitivity and further test the specificity of this PCR assay with traditional culturing and serotyping techniques, tissue samples from 84 Pekin ducks inoculated with field strains of P. multocida and 54 wild lesser snow geese collected during an avian cholera outbreak were provided by other investigators working on avian cholera. PCR was as sensitive (58/64) as routine isolation (52/64) in detecting and identifying P. multocida serotype 1 from the livers of inoculated Pekins that became sick or died from avian cholera. No product was amplified from tissues of 20 other Pekin ducks that received serotypes other than type 1 (serotype 3, 12 x 3, or 10) or 12 control birds. Of the 54 snow geese necropsied and tested for P. multocida, our PCR detected and identified the bacteria from 44 compared with 45 by direct isolation. The serotype-specific PCR we developed was much faster and less labor intensive than traditional culturing and serotyping procedures and could result in diagnosis of serotype 1 pasteurellosis within 24 hr of specimen submission.     

Expression of iron-regulated outer membrane proteins by porcine strains of Pasteurella multocida.

The outer membrane protein (OMP) profiles of two strains of capsular type A Pasteurella multocida isolated from the lungs of pigs with enzootic pneumonia were studied. Sarkosyl extracted OMPs from P. multocida grown under iron-restricted and iron-replete conditions were subjected to sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and Western blot analysis. Results showed that the iron-regulated outer membrane proteins (IROMPs) with molecular masses of 74 kDa, 94 kDa, 99 kDa and 109 kDa were expressed by strain A52, while 74 kDa, 82 kDa, 94 kDa and 99 kDa IROMPs were expressed by strain B80. Swine immune sera, obtained from pigs which were first immunized with a polyvalent P. multocida type A and type D bacterin and subsequently challenged with type A strain of P. multocida, contained antibodies against the IROMPs. These antibodies cross-reacted with the IROMPs expressed by avian strain P1059 of P. multocida. Convalescent-phase serum obtained from turkeys which survived fowl cholera, also cross-reacted with the IROMPs from porcine strains of P. multocida. These results suggested that IROMPs from porcine and avian strains of P. multocida may share common epitopes that were recognized by swine immune serum as well as turkey convalescent-phase serum.     

Epidemiology of Pasteurella multocida in a farrow-to-finish swine herd.

Thirty-eight clinical isolates of Pasteurella multocida, recovered from a continuous flow, farrow-to-finish swine herd, were characterized by capsular serotyping and restriction endonuclease analysis (REA) in order to study the epidemiology of P. multocida pneumonia. Twenty-three of the 38 isolates obtained in the study belonged to serotype A. They displayed three REA patterns after digestion with HpaII, of which one designated A-3 represented 70% of the samples. The remaining 15 isolates were serotype D. Four different REA patterns were observed in the type D isolates. The REA type D-1 was most prevalent and accounted for 47% of the serotype D isolates. All serotype A isolates were nontoxigenic, whereas five (33%) of the serotype D isolates were toxigenic. Vertical transmission of P. multocida could not be demonstrated, and was probably not a major route of infection. The results of this study suggest that strains of P. multocida virulent for pigs exist and cause swine pneumonic pasteurellosis in continuous flow herds by horizontal transmission.     

Effect of Pasteurella multocida and Haemophilus pleuropneumoniae toxins on swine alveolar macrophages

Supernatants were obtained from 18 hr. broth cultures of Pasteurella multocida strains D82 and D62 (serotype D, toxigenic), Kobe 6 (type D, non-toxigenic), A50 and X73 (type A, non-toxigenic), Haemophilus pleuropneumoniae serotypes 1, 5 and 6, Haemophilus sp. taxon "minor group" (2 strains) and an avirulent serotype 1 strain of H. pleuropneumoniae. The supernates were filtered, pH-neutralized and tested for cytotoxicity after incubation for 18 hours in the presence of swine alveolar macrophage monolayers. Supernatants from H. pleuropneumoniae serotypes 1, 5 and 6 were cytocidal.     

Effect of aerial ammonia on porcine infection of the respiratory tract with toxigenic Pasteurella multocida

The objective of the experimental study was to examine whether aerial ammonia alone could predispose the respiratory system of pigs to infection with toxigenic Pasteurella multocida type A. Two groups of 5 pigs each were continuously exposed to 50 ppm ammonia and less than 5 ppm ammonia, respectively, for a 59-day period (from 37 kg to 90 kg bodyweight) followed by necropsy. In an aerosol chamber all pigs were exposed to an aerosol of toxigenic P. multocida type A (mean bacterial concentration in the aerosol-exposure chamber: 10(5) colony forming units/m3; exposure period: 25 min) at day 10, 21, 35 and 49 after the onset of ammonia exposure. During the experiment none of the pigs showed clinical signs of pneumonia nor did they develop visible distortion of the snout. None of the pigs had gross lesions in the lungs at necropsy and toxigenic P. multocida was not detected by culture from the lungs from any of the pigs. The chance of recovering toxigenic P. multocida from nasal swabs (collected during experiment) was 2-4 times greater in the test group compared to the control group. The average daily weight gain was lower for the ammonia exposed pigs compared to the control group. In conclusion the results from this study suggest that ammonia in concentrations of 50 ppm is unlikely to predispose growing pigs to pulmonary infection with toxigenic P. multocida.     

Experimental model of swine pneumonic pasteurellosis using crude Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae cytotoxin and Pasteurella multocida given endobronchially.

This study was designed to develop and characterize a swine pneumonic pasteurellosis model by concurrent introduction of Pasteurella multocida type A and Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae crude cytotoxin. After a series of preliminary experiments, a combination of 4 x 10(9) P. multocida and 4,000 toxic units of A. pleuropneumoniae crude cytotoxin was determined to produce optimal results. A total of 48 pigs were divided into four groups of 12 pigs each. The control group received buffered saline only. Four pigs from each group were randomly selected for necropsy 3, 7 and 14 days postinoculation (PI). Inoculation of pigs with P. multocida and A. pleuropneumoniae cytotoxin (group 1) resulted in moderate to severe pneumonia. Pasteurella multocida was isolated from pneumonic lesions, grossly normal lung, and bronchial lymph nodes of all group 1 pigs throughout the 14 day experimental period. Pathological changes typical of field cases of swine pneumonic pasteurellosis were produced. Pigs inoculated with P. multocida alone (group 2) had pneumonic lesions and P. multocida was reisolated from lungs at three days PI. Pasteurella multocida was not isolated from these pigs at 7 and 14 days PI, except for one pig in which an abscess developed in the thorax. Pulmonary lesions induced by A. pleuropneumoniae crude cytotoxin alone (group 3) were transient and resolved by seven days PI. Group 1 pigs had significantly greater lung lesion volumes than group 2 and 3 pigs at 3, 7 and 14 days PI. Statistical analysis indicated a significant interactive effect of P. multocida and A. pleuropneumoniae cytotoxin on the development of lung lesion volumes at 7 and 14 days PI (p < 0.05).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Effects of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae and Actinobacillus (Haemophilus) pleuropneumoniae infections on alveolar macrophage functions in swine

Alveolar macrophages were collected at necropsy from pigs inoculated with Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae or Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae or both and were tested for phagocytic capabilities, using in vitro techniques. Macrophages from noninoculated littermates were used as controls. Alveolar macrophages from pigs inoculated with either M hyopneumoniae or A pleuropneumoniae had significantly (P less than 0.05 to P less than 0.0025) higher phagocytic capacity than that of noninoculated controls. Macrophages from A pleuropneumoniae-inoculated pigs were comparatively more stimulated than were those from M hyopneumoniae-inoculated pigs. Pigs inoculated with M hyopneumoniae and then challenge-exposed with A pleuropneumoniae 2 and 4 weeks later had greatly reduced phagocytosis. Infection with M hyopneumoniae or A pleuropneumoniae caused stimulation of alveolar macrophage functions, and M hyopneumoniae infections may have suppressed phagocytic responses when pigs were challenge-exposed with a secondary pathogen (A pleuropneumoniae). This potential suppression may represent a prediposition of the host by M hyopneumoniae to secondary bacterial infections.     

Induction of pneumonia in rabbits by use of a purified protein toxin from Pasteurella multocida.

Heat-labile toxin from a cell sonicate of a virulent type-D strain of Pasteurella multocida was purified by ammonium sulfate precipitation followed by ion exchange chromatography, gel filtration chromatography, and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Toxic activity was assayed during toxin purification by cytopathic effect in Vero or bovine embryonic lung cell cultures. Toxicity for cells correlated with dermonecrosis in guinea pig skin. Toxicity was accounted for by a single protein with a molecular weight of 149,000, as determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Rabbits were inoculated intranasally with purified toxin to determine whether toxin had a role in the induction of pneumonia in rabbits infected with P multocida. Pneumonia, pleuritis, acute hepatic necrosis, and splenic lymphoid atrophy were found in 4 of 5 rabbits. One of 5 rabbits had bilateral turbinate atrophy. Western blotting with monoclonal antibodies to toxin from a P multocida isolate causing atrophic rhinitis in pigs revealed the toxin that induces pleuritis and pneumonia in rabbits to be the same or a closely related toxin.     

The pathogenesis of Pasteurella multocida serotype A:3,4 infection in turkeys: a comparison of two vaccine strains and a field isolate

The pathogenesis of avian pasteurellosis caused by two vaccine strains, M-9 and Clemson University (CU), and a highly virulent field isolate, 86-1913, of Pasteurella multocida (serotype A:3,4) was studied in 7-week-old turkeys inoculated by an oculo-nasal-oral technique. Turkeys inoculated with strain CU and isolate 86-1913 developed severe progressive bacteremia that began at 4 hours postinoculation (PI) and peaked at 16-20 hours PI. Turkeys inoculated with strain CU and isolate 86-1913 had significantly higher concentrations of bacteria in blood and tissues, and greater histologic lesion scores for necrosis, heterophil infiltrates, and intralesional bacteria than turkeys inoculated with strain M-9. Immunohistochemical staining specific for P. multocida demonstrated numerous extracellular bacteria in tissues from turkeys inoculated with strain CU and isolate 86-1913. The mortality for turkeys inoculated with isolate 86-1913 was significantly higher than for turkeys receiving the two vaccine strains.     

Experimental pneumonia in rabbits inoculated with strains of Pasteurella multocida.

Domestic rabbits were inoculated with either a 3:A or 3:D serotype of Pasteurella multocida by aerosol, intravenous, or intratracheal inoculation. Different colony forming units of P. multocida were used. Animals which died or were killed after the 14 day observation period were examined macroscopically and microscopically for lesions in the lower respiratory tract. Pneumonic lesions were most consistently produced in rabbits inoculated intratracheally with serotype 3:A. Pulmonary and pleural lesions were observed in some animals inoculated intravenously with serotype 3:A. Lesions were minimal in rabbits inoculated with serotype 3:D. Of the three routes of inoculation evaluated, the intratracheal route appeared to be the best method to produce Pasteurella-associated lesions in the lower respiratory tract.     

Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae increases the susceptibility of pigs to experimental Pasteurella multocida pneumonia.

The interaction between Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae and Pasteurella multocida in experimental pneumonia was investigated in conventional pigs. The experimental animals were 49 days old when inoculated with M. hyopneumoniae; they were inoculated with P. multocida after 23 days, and killed 13 days later. In pigs inoculated only with P. multocida, clinical signs and lung lesions were not observed, and the agent was not recovered. Pigs inoculated with M. hyopneumoniae developed fever, moderate cough and dyspnea which tended to disappear, and small proliferative lung lesions from which M. hyopneumoniae was isolated. Pigs inoculated with both agents had higher fever, severe cough and dyspnea which tended to aggravate, and extensive exudative lung lesions from which organisms were isolated. All animals had similar growth rates, but the group infected with both agents consumed 60% more food. Therefore, M. hyopneumoniae causes mild pneumonia, whereas P. multocida is not pathogenic alone but aggravates the pneumonia initiated by M. hyopneumoniae.     

Toxigenic type A Pasteurella multocida as a causative agent of nasal turbinate atrophy in swine.

Although no clinical signs of atrophic rhinitis (AR) were recognized in 2- and 5-week-old pigs, approximately 60% of 2- to 6-month-old pigs showed clinical signs of AR in an affected pig farm. None of the pigs had normal turbinate at slaughter. Bordetella bronchiseptica was not isolated from any of the pigs before onset and incipient stage of the outbreak (2-week to 2-month-old). Pasteurella multocida of capsular type D was not isolated from any of those pigs. However, toxigenic P. multocida of capsular type A was isolated from a number of the pigs immediately before onset and incipient stage of the outbreak. Thirty-six-day-old primary specific-pathogen-free pigs were inoculated intranasally with a toxigenic type A P. multocida isolated from a 5-week-old pig. Severe nasal turbinate atrophy was observed in those pigs which were necropsied at 3 weeks post-inoculation. This is the first report on outbreak of severe nasal turbinate atrophy induced by toxigenic type A P. multocida in Japan.     

Experimentally induced Mycobacterium avium serotype 8 infection in swine.

Five of 6 swine experimentally inoculated with Mycobacterium avium serotype 8 had microgranulomas in the cervical or mesenteric lymph nodes at necropsy 92 days later. In vivo tuberculin skin reactivity and in vitro lymphocyte immunostimulation responses were evaluated at 10 and 12 weeks after the pigs were inoculated. Positive responses were obtained on both tests in inoculated pigs, whereas test results in noninoculated pigs and pigs given killed bacterial cells were negative. Mycobacterium avium serotype 8 was isolated at necropsy from the cervical or mesenteric lymph nodes of each of the pigs inoculated with viable microorganisms and from the 2 pigs kept in the pen with inoculated swine. Mycobacteria were not isolated from tissues of the noninoculated swine or those given killed cells.     

Experimental infection of calves with Pasteurella multocida Serovar A: 3 isolated in Japan

Pasteurella multocida, serovar A: 3, selected by pathogenicity in mice from among 10 strains isolated from pneumonic lesions of calves, was adjusted to 10(7), 10(8) and 10(10) colony-forming units (CFU), and inoculated intratracheally into four calves. All calves showed pyrexia and had lungs with congestion and hepatization. Inoculation with 10(10) CFU of bacteria produced respiratory symptoms and abscesses in lungs. This information will aid elucidation of the pathogenicity of P. multocida and the development of vaccines.     

PRRSV感染猪体内多杀性巴氏杆菌的分离与血清型鉴定

应用常规方法和PCR技术,对来自安徽肥西、庐江、肥东、定远、桐城5个地区猪场检测为猪繁殖与呼吸综合征病毒(PRRSV)阳性的肺脏进行多杀性巴氏杆菌(Pm)的分离及其血清型鉴定。结果显示,49份病料中分离鉴定出7株Pm,且均属于A型,分离率为14.3%,高于其他细菌(副猪嗜血杆菌、猪链球菌)的检出率。表明猪繁殖与呼吸综合征(PRRS)患猪继发或混合感染Pm的比率较高,而且A型Pm是安徽省感染猪群中的主要血清型。     

Phenotypic characterization and random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis of Pasteurella multocida isolated from Korean pigs

Pasteurella multocida causes various respiratory disease symptoms in pigs, including atrophic rhinitis and pneumonia. In the present study, 69 strains of P. multocida were isolated from 443 pigs with respiratory clinical symptoms at 182 farms located throughout South Korea from 2009 to 2010. A multiplex capsular PCR typing assay revealed that 69 strains of P. multocida isolated in this study had the biosynthetic locus of the capsules of either serogroup A (47 strains, 68.1%) or serogroup D (22 strains, 31.9%). The 22 strains positive for serogroup D-specific primers were divided into four clusters and the 47 strains positive for serogroup A-specific primers were divided into 12 clusters according to the results of Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis. P. multocida strains in the present study were susceptible to most of the antimicrobial agents used. An analysis of antimicrobial resistance and virulence gene pattern combined with RAPD indicated that a certain P. multocida strain appeared to be genetically identical, implying the persistence of the strain within a single farm.