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Survival and transmissibility of Pasteurella pneumotropica

W Scharmann1, A Heller

  • 1Bundesinstitut für Gesundheitlichen Verbraucherschutz und Veterinärmedizin, Fachgebiet Versuchstierkunde, Berlin.

Laboratory Animals
|April 21, 2001
PubMed

Insights

Pasteurella pneumotropica survives longest on mouse hair (120 min) but briefly on lab coats (<30 min). Sentinel mice detected transmission via direct contact but not soiled bedding, indicating limited environmental spread.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Animal Health
  • Infectious Disease Transmission

Background:

  • Pasteurella pneumotropica is a common bacterium in laboratory animals.
  • Understanding its survival on surfaces is crucial for infection control in animal facilities.
  • Effective detection methods are needed to manage potential outbreaks.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine the survival time of Pasteurella pneumotropica on various animal room surfaces.
  • To evaluate the efficacy of sentinel animals for detecting P. pneumotropica in quarantined mice.
  • To assess transmission routes, including direct contact and soiled bedding.

Main Methods:

  • Survival assays of P. pneumotropica on different surfaces at controlled temperature and humidity.
  • Transmission experiments using sentinel mice exposed to infected mice via direct contact.
  • Transmission experiments using sentinel mice exposed to soiled bedding from infected mice.
  • Detection of P. pneumotropica using culture and seroconversion in sentinel animals.

Main Results:

  • Pasteurella pneumotropica exhibited variable survival times, with the longest on mouse hair (120 minutes) and shortest on laboratory coat fabric (<30 minutes).
  • Sentinel mice exposed to infected mice by direct contact were positive for P. pneumotropica via culture at 2 weeks and seroconversion at 3 weeks.
  • Exposure to soiled bedding from infected mice did not result in P. pneumotropica detection in sentinel animals within 12 weeks.

Conclusions:

  • P. pneumotropica has limited survival on common animal room surfaces, particularly fabric.
  • Sentinel animals are effective in detecting P. pneumotropica transmission through direct contact with infected animals.
  • Transmission via soiled bedding appears to be an inefficient route for P. pneumotropica spread in this model.

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