The use of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis to examine the epidemiology of Bordetella bronchiseptica isolated from cats and other species.

A collection (164) of isolates of Bordetella bronchiseptica made predominantly from cats (132) but also from dogs (15), pigs (12) and other species was examined by pulsed field gel electrophoresis following macrorestriction digestion with XbaI. Each isolate was analysed twice and the patterns were entirely reproducible. The isolates fell into 17 different strains (> 3 bands different) and within strains there were numerous subtypes. Feline isolates fell into 12 of the 17 strains. In general, cats housed together had similar or identical strains and subtypes of B. bronchiseptica. There was no difference in the PFGE patterns of isolates made from carrier cats and those from cats with respiratory disease. Isolates from pigs and dogs were in general similar to the feline isolates and there was no great evidence for species specificity. The PFGE pattern of feline and canine isolates were more related to whether the animals were housed together rather than whether they came from dogs or cats.