[Biochemical tests for identifying Pasteurella multocida]

Studied was the biochemical activity of a total of 168 strains of Pasteurella--73 isolated from birds (48 from cases of acute fowl cholera, and 25--of chronic cholera), and 95 isolated from mammals (3 from lambs, 24 from pigs, 36 from cattle, and 32 from rabbits) with regard to the tests determining the hemolytic activity, production of indol, reduction of nitrates, breakdown of urea, beta galactosidase activity, production of hydrogen sulfide, ornitin-, arginine-, lysine-decarboxylase-, and phosphatase activity, and the fermentation of substrates such as manite, glucose, galactose, saccharose, manose, levulose, dulcite, lactose, maltose, rafinose, trechalose, salicin, melobiose, icelobiose, arabinose, xylose, and sorbite. To differentiate Pasteurella multocida strains isolated from mamals from those isolated from birds the phosphatase activity test on solid media with sodium phenolphtalein diphosphate had to be employed Pasteurella organisms isolated from mammals showed positive phosphatase activity, while those isolated from birds exhibited a negative one. Arabinose and xylose fermentation tests could simultaneously be used. Pasteurellae isolated in cases of acute fowl cholera showed positive reaction for arabinose and a negative one for xylose, while the strains isolated from mammals showed the reverse activity. The strains isolated in cases of chronic fowl cholera were shown to belong to this group.