We conducted laboratory challenge trials using mallard ducks (Anas platyrhynchos) to compare methods for detecting carriers of Pasteurella multocida, the bacterium that causes avian cholera, in wild birds. Birds that survived the initial infection were euthanized at 2–4 wk intervals up to 14 wk post challenge. Isolates of P. multocida were obtained at necropsy from 23% of the birds that survived initial infection. We found that swab samples (oral, cloacal, nasal, eye, and leg joint) were most effective for detecting carrier birds up to 14 wk post infection. No detectable differences in isolation were observed for samples stored in either 10% dimethysulfoxide or brain heart infusion broth. The frequency of detecting carriers in our challenge trials appeared to be related to mortality rates observed during the trial, but was not related to a number of other factors including time after challenge, time delays in collecting tissues postmortem, and route of infection. In our trials, there was little association between antibody levels and carrier status. We concluded that swabs samples collected from recently dead birds, stored in liquid nitrogen, and processed using selective broth provide a feasible field method for detecting P. multocida carriers in wild waterfowl.
BACTERIOLOGY|
January 01 2003
COMPARISON OF METHODS TO DETECT PASTEURELLA MULTOCIDA IN CARRIER WATERFOWL
Michael D. Samuel;
Michael D. Samuel
3
1 US Geological Survey, Biological Resources Division, National Wildlife Health Center, 6006 Schroeder Road, Madison, Wisconsin 53711, USA
3 Corresponding author (email: [email protected])
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Daniel J. Shadduck;
Daniel J. Shadduck
1 US Geological Survey, Biological Resources Division, National Wildlife Health Center, 6006 Schroeder Road, Madison, Wisconsin 53711, USA
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Diana R. Goldberg;
Diana R. Goldberg
1 US Geological Survey, Biological Resources Division, National Wildlife Health Center, 6006 Schroeder Road, Madison, Wisconsin 53711, USA
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William P. Johnson
William P. Johnson
2 Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, 5900 W. Cemetery Road, Canyon, Texas 79015, USA
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J Wildl Dis (2003) 39 (1): 125–135.
Article history
Received:
April 15 2002
Citation
Michael D. Samuel, Daniel J. Shadduck, Diana R. Goldberg, William P. Johnson; COMPARISON OF METHODS TO DETECT PASTEURELLA MULTOCIDA IN CARRIER WATERFOWL. J Wildl Dis 1 January 2003; 39 (1): 125–135. doi: https://doi.org/10.7589/0090-3558-39.1.125
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