PHENOTYPE AND SEROTYPE OF PASTEURELLA-MULTOCIDA ISOLATES FROM DISEASES OF DOGS AND CATS IN ZIMBABWE

A variety of disease manifestations, comprising skin bite wounds, pyot horax, respiratory and genitourinary tract infections, in 202 dogs and cats presented to the University Clinic, were investigated for the pr esence of Pasteurella multocida. Of these, 25-42% of various cases (69 ) were found to be infected with P. multocida. P. multocida-associated respiratory tract infections were more common than bite wounds or gen itourinary tract infections. The regimen of treatment consisted of tho se antibiotics, sensitivity to which had been confirmed in vitro. Foll owing detailed characterization of the isolates of P. multocida, in or der to assign them to the reclassified taxa of Pasteurella, a preponde rance of P. multocida subspecies multocida and septica were recorded. There did not appear to be a correlation between the reclassfied taxa and their serotypes. Certain strains of different species or subspecie s belonged to a common serotype and vice versa. However, the strains w hich were serotyped belonged to capsular type A, except for a solitary isolate from a cat which was capsular type D. Type D is known to caus e atrophic rhinitis and does not appear to have been isolated either f rom a dog or a cat. Two strains, one from a dog and another from a cat , were identified as group EF-4 bacteria. This group of organisms has been incriminated in human wounds resulting from dog/cat bites, and ha s so far not been reported in Africa. Three different species, P. stom atis, P. dagmatis and P. multocida subspecies multocida were simultane ously isolated from a case of chronic bronchitis in a dog. There was n o evidence of any relationship between disease manifestation in a host and the isolation of a particular taxon of Pasteurella, except that P . canis and Pasteurella taxon 16 were only isolated from dogs. (C) 199 6 Elsevier Science Ltd.