PCR detection and analysis of Pasteurella multocida from the tonsils of slaughtered pigs in Vietnam

A total of 36 tonsil swab samples were collected from healthy swine prior t o slaughter at the abattoirs in Can tho and Tien giang provinces of Souther n Vietnam, The presence of Pasteurella multocida in these samples was detec ted by the combination of direct cultivation and isolation, mouse inoculati on and the polymerase chain reaction (PM-PCR). P. multocida was detected in 16 samples by PCR, with 17 strains ultimately isolated. All samples were n egative for serogroup B by HSB-PCR and conventional serotyping, with isolat es identified as A:3, D:1 or D:3. In addition, all samples were determined to be negative for the P. multocida toxin (PMT). Characterisation of isolat ed P, multocida by REP-PCR and biotyping revealed nine distinct REP profile s and seven biotypes among the 17 isolates. Some correlation was seen with P. multocida isolated from a previous Australian outbreak of acute swine pa steurellosis, and those isolated from fowl cholera outbreaks in Vietnamese poultry. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.