Pasteurella anatipestifer infection in ducklings in Korea

오리의 Pasteurella anatipestifer 감염증 발생

This study was conducted to investigate the cause of a new duck disease occured in southern part of Korea. A meat type duck farm located in Kangjin, Chonnam Province had experienced outbreaks of septicemic disease at around 20 days of age in nearly every batch of ducklings from early spring to early summer in 1989. Main symptoms of the birds were eye and nasal discharge, depression, inappetence, diarrhea and nervous signs such as tremor and ataxia. Some birds died suddenly without any signs. Mortality reached from 20% to 80% in severe cases. The autopsy findings of the affected ducklings revealed consistantly severe airsacculitis, fibropericarditis, perihepatitis and occasionaly enteritis and distended ureter with urate deposit. A rod shaped gram-negative bacterium was isolated purely from brain and liver of the diseased ducks by culturing the specimens on blood agar for 48 hours in candle jar. The isolate neither produced hemolysis nor grew on MacConKey Agar. It formed colony relatively slowly being recognizable at least 36 hours after culturing, reaching colony size of about 1mm in diameter at 48 hours culture. The colony looked iridescent under oblique light and had muddy odor. The isolate did not ferment carbohydrates tested but produced gelatinase, hippuricase and oxidase which were considered as characteristics of P anatipestifer. The isolate induced similar signs and lesions when infected experimentally into ducks of 3 to 38 days age via intraperitoneum or intratrachea. However it did not produce any clinical signs wen inoculated via intranasal route. It produced only mild signs in chicken just injected with a very large dose. The bacteria did not produce any signas or lesions in mice. It was concluded through biochemical and physiological tests and animal inoculation tests that the new disease was caused by P anatipestifer.