Dermal necrosis caused by Pasteurella multocida infection in turkeys

Severe dermal necrosis caused by Pasteurella multocida Serotype 1 was diagnosed in three dressed turkey carcasses and two live turkeys from a commercial flock. The dressed carcasses were among several condemned at a processing plant. The isolate, P. multocida Serotype 1, produced progressive dermal necrosis when experimentally inoculated into injured skin of turkeys. The organism was reisolated from the dermal lesions. The turkey houses were found to be infested by mice; the skin injury and infection with P. multocida probably originated from mouse bites.