Cultural characteristics and virulence of strains of Fusobacterium necrophorum isolated from the feet of cattle and sheep.

Sixty-one isolates of Fusobacterium necrophorum were recovered for study. Thirty-one were obtained from lesions of foot abscess in cattle (25) and sheep (6), 28 were from interdigital lesions in cattle and 2 were from the normal interdigital skin of cattle. The majority of isolates from lesions of foot abscess were virulent, belonged to biotype AB (Fievez 1963), produced flat, irregular shaped, greyish colonies and haemolysis on blood agar, and grew as turbid filamentous suspensions in liquid media. They produced a soluble exotoxin, a leucocidin, and were pathogenic for cattle and mice. Virulent isolates also produced a haemolysin which most readily lysed bovine, equine and chicken erythrocytes; those from sheep were less susceptible while those of rabbit and pig were the most resistant. Isolates recovered from lesions of the feet not classified as foot abscess and from clinically normal feet were predominantly of the B biotype and caused few experimental lesions, produced convex, round, yellow colonies, flocculated and sedimented while growing in liquid medium and produced little or no haemolysin or leucocidin. Routine differentiation between virulent and non-virulent bovine isolates of F. necrophorum could be achieved by assessing the colour, morphology, and degree of haemolytic activity of colonies grown on blood agar.