Typing of Pasteurella multocidaIsolated from Pigs with and without Porcine Dermatitis and Nephropathy Syndrome

ABSTRACTPorcine dermatitis and nephropathy syndrome (PDNS) is a sporadic, usually fatal disease of growing and finishing pigs that has been recognized in many pig-producing countries. Pasteurella multocidastrains isolated from 15 pigs with PDNS and 51 pigs without PDNS were characterized by capsule and somatic antigen typing, random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAP-D) typing, and restriction analysis of genomic DNA using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). While capsular, somatic, and RAP-D typing did not discriminate PDNS isolates from non-PDNS isolates, all of the isolates from PDNS cases showed an identical ApaI PFGE restriction pattern. This pattern was also found in a high proportion (36%) of P. multocidastrains isolated from non-PDNS cases. Isolation of a single variant of P. multocidafrom tissues of pigs with PDNS warrants further investigation into the possible role of these bacteria in the etiology of the disease.