[Detection of Pasteurella multocida toxin - a comparison of in vitro and in vivo methods]

Investigations to detect the Type D dermonecrotoxin of Pasteurella (P.) multocida were first conducted on guinea pigs, following intracutaneous application of the toxin. The latter was named after the dermatonecroses observed in those early experiments. In recent years, animal experiments for toxin detection have been increasingly replaced by in vitro methods. Comparative checks on results obtained from guinea pig skin test and mouse lethality tests, on the one hand, and cell culturing, ELISA and dot-blot, on the other, revealed very close agreement between in vitro investigations and in vivo reactions. Hence, cell culture and ELISA tests can be recommended for toxin detection without any reservation, the toxin detection of (P.) multocida ssp. multocida strains for diagnostically purposes can be done without experimental animals.