Avian cholera, caused by Pasteurella multocida, affects waterbirds across North America and occurs worldwide among various avian species. Once an epizootic begins, contamination of the wetland environment likely facilitates the transmission of P. multocida to susceptible birds. To evaluate the ability of P. multocida serotype-1, the most common serotype associated with avian cholera in waterfow...

We studied patterns in avian cholera mortality, the presence of Pasteurella multocida in the water or sediment, and water chemistry characteristics in 10 wetlands at the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge Complex (California, USA), an area of recurrent avian cholera epizootics, during the winters of 1997 and 1998. Avian cholera outbreaks (>or=50 dead birds) occurred on two wetlands during the ...

Repetitive sequence-based PCR (rep-PCR) and amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) were used to characterize a sample of 43 field isolates and 4 attenuated vaccine strains of Pasteurella multocida recovered from multiple avian species. Both rep-PCR and AFLP assays were rapid and reproducible, with high indices of discrimination. Concordance analyses of rep-PCR and AFLP with somatic serot...

Avian cholera is a significant infectious disease affecting waterfowl across North America and occurs worldwide among various avian species. Despite the importance of this disease, little is known about the factors that cause avian cholera outbreaks and what management strategies might be used to reduce disease mortality. Previous studies indicated that wetland water conditions may affect survi...

2 Swartz MN, Kunz LJ. Pasteurella multocida infection in man: report of 2 cases. N Engli Med 1959;261:888. 3 Schmidt EC, Previtt LV, Koch ML. Pulmonary abscess with empyema caused by Pasteurella multocida. Report on a fatal case. AmJf Clin Pathol 1970 ;54 :733. 4 Itoh M, Tierno PMJ, Milstoc M, Berger AR. A unique outbreak of Pasteurella multocida in a chronic disease hospital. Am _7 Public Heal...

We collected samples from apparently healthy geese in the Playa Lakes Region (USA) during the winters of 2000-01 and 2001-02 to determine whether carriers of Pasteurella multocida, the bacterium that causes avian cholera, were present in wild populations. With the use of methods developed in laboratory challenge trials (Samuel et al., 2003a) and a serotype-specific polymerase chain reaction met...

Several case reports attest to the pathogenicity of Pasteurella multocida in raptors; however, the pathologic syndromes have not been fully described. We describe here the lesions encountered in 22 avian cholera cases in raptors. Besides septicemia-related lesions, a unique syndrome of esophageal abscesses was noted in 8 of the 11 (73%) Buteo hawks that succumbed to avian cholera. Esophageal ab...

Investigation of the hemolytic phenotype under anaerobic growth conditions of an avian Pasteurella multocida strain, PBA100, resulted in the identification and characterisation of a gene encoding an esterase enzyme, mesA, that conferred a hemolytic phenotype in Escherichia coli under anaerobic conditions. MesA appeared to be expressed and functional under anaerobic and aerobic conditions in bot...

Pasteurella multocida, a zoonotic agent transmitted by canines and felines, has been very rarely reported to cause bacterial peritonitis in humans. Pasteurella multocida peritonitis is associated with high mortality even with appropriate treatment, therefore its early recognition is essential. We report a case of Pasteurella multocida peritonitis following cat scratch in a patient with Child Pu...

We conducted a 3-yr study (2001-03) on greater white-fronted geese (Anser albifrons frontalis) breeding in Alaska, USA, to determine the exposure of this population to Pasteurella multocida and the potential role of these birds as disease carriers. We tested sera from nearly 600 adult geese for antibodies to P. multocida serotype 1. We found a low prevalence (<5%) of positive antibodies in adul...