Clonal outbreaks of [ Pasteurella] pneumotropica biovar Heyl in two mouse colonies.

The aim of this study was to document the pathogenic role of biovar Heyl of [ Pasteurella] pneumotropica in mouse colonies. Fifty-three isolates associated with mastitis and orbital, cutaneous and vaginal abscesses as well as isolates from the nose and vagina of healthy mice were investigated. According to phenotypic characteristics and rpoB sequencing, the isolates were identified as [ P.] pneumotropica biovar Heyl. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) revealed five closely related profiles separated by only one to four fragments. The outbreak strains diverged from epidemiologically unrelated strains with the same rpoB sequence type, as shown by the PFGE profiles. The investigation documented that members of biovar Heyl of [ P.] pneumotropica caused disease outbreaks in mouse colonies since the clonality indicated a primary role of [ P.] pneumotropica biovar Heyl in the infections observed.