Septicaemic pasteurellosis in ostriches (Struthio camelus) in central Saudi Arabia

摘要

Pasteurella multocida is a significant cause of fowl cholera and affects both domestic and wild avian species (Rimler & Glisson, 1997) resulting in severe economic losses among poultry populations (Samuel et al., 1997; Dunbar et al., 2000). Outbreaks of fowl cholera are often associated with intensive poultry production, climatic stress, and possible predation in free range. The severity of infection is usually controlled by strict sanitation and biosecurity measures as well as by vaccination (Rimler & Glisson, 1997). The diagnosis of P. multocida is usually made by bacteriological and serological tests (Rimler, 1992). Most of the bacteriological tests rely on microbial isolation and biochemical characterization (Snipes et al., 1990; Fegan et al., 1995). Although microbial isolation is the 'gold standard' in the identification of a new isolate, the morphologic features of P. multocida are not characteristic enough to differentiate it from other gram-negative coccobacilli. Therefore, some key biochemical features, including positive indole reaction and ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) activity, are used in the identification of Pasteurellae (Rimler & Glisson, 1997). The application of key biochemical reactions coupled with the isolation methods had successfully identified out-breaks of fowl cholera in turkeys (Blackall et al., 1995). Despite the worldwide distribution of P. multocida infections in domestic and wild birds, reports of pasteurellosis in ostriches are rare. To our knowledge, there is only one report of an outbreak in Kano Zoo, Nigeria (Okoh, 1980).