Comparisons of the serologic response of chickens to Pasteurella multocida and its lipopolysaccharide.

Chickens were inoculated with serotype 3 Pasteurella multocida cells or purified lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and their serologic responses to LPS and heat-stable antigens of 16 serotypes were compared. Chickens inoculated with cells or LPS had antibodies against LPS as determined by indirect hemagglutination tests; titers were highest 2-4 weeks after the initial inoculation. Sera from chickens inoculated with cells reacted with unheated and heated cell antigen in a tube-agglutination test. Sera from chickens inoculated with LPS reacted only with heated cell antigen in the tube-agglutination test. Nonspecific reactions with heat-stable antigens of other serotypes occurred in the gel-diffusion-precipitin test with sera from chickens inoculated with cells but not with sera from chickens inoculated with LPS. Antisera prepared against LPS could be used for serotyping field isolates of P. multocida.