Rapid virulence typing of Pasteurella multocida by multiplex PCR.

The gram-negative bacterium Pasteurella multocida constitutes a heterogeneous species associated with wide range of disease in many animals. Isolates are classified into five groups based on capsular antigen (capA, B, D, E and F). Recently, a new valuable PCR-based method was introduced to determine the epidemiological correlation between P. multocida infection and existence of virulence genes including tbpA, pfhA, toxA and hgbB. However, this method is tedious and laborious. Thus, in the current study, we designed a reliable multiplex PCR method for rapid detection of virulence genes in P. multocida. Eighty seven strains of P. multocida isolated from various clinically healthy and infected hosts were examined by uniplex PCR method for each virulence associated genes. Based on our improved and simplified multiplex PCR method, rapid detection of four virulence genes was accomplished. It is proposed that its implementation may benefit the epidemiological investigations.