PCR analysis of Pasteurella multocida isolates from an outbreak of pasteurellosis in Indian pigs.

An outbreak of pasteurellosis with high mortality was recorded in indigenous pigs in India. The presence of Pasteurella multocida in samples collected from dead pigs was detected by smear examination and isolation, and later by P. multocida specific polymerase chain reaction (PM-PCR). P. multocida was detected in all the samples collected from dead pigs, with nine strains ultimately isolated. All the isolates were positive by PM-PCR. Six isolates showed CAPA and three were of CAPD capsular types. All the isolates were negative for toxigenic gene (toxA). The isolates were sensitive to oxytetracycline, doxycycline, gentamycin, erythromycin, ampicillin, amoxycillin, chloramphenicol and enrofloxacin and resistant to sulphadiazine and cloxacillin. The PCR assays used in this study have been shown to be useful diagnostic tools for P. multocida detection and characterization.