Re-emergence of bovine haemorrhagic septicaemia in Hungary

Abstract

This paper reports an outbreak of haemorrhagic septicaemia caused by Pasteurella multocida B:2 in beef calves, a disease that has not been described in the Hungarian literature since 1943, and has not been reported to the World Organisation For Animal Health (OIE) since 1970. Acute haemorrhagic septicaemia was confirmed in beef calves on one small farm, and was suspected on two further nearby holdings with concomitant unexplained losses. The source of the infection could not be determined. Apart from a short duration of depression and loss of appetite, the affected calves developed characteristic distal limb oedema. Gross findings in two calves submitted for laboratory examinations included subcutaneous oedema and haemorrhages on serous membranes, and in one case severe pharyngeal lymph node enlargement was observed. Histological examinations revealed lesions characteristic of septicaemia. Moderate to large amounts of Pasteurella antigens were detected in all organs tested by immunohistochemistry. Two isolates of P. multocida (Pm240, Pm241) were cultured from these cases and examined in detail. These were identified as P. multocida ssp. multocida biovar 3. Both were toxA negative and belonged to serotype B:2. Multilocus sequence typing was used to assign these to a new sequence type (ST64) that is closely related to other haemorrhagic septicaemia causing strains of P. multocida regardless of the host.

Antimicrobial resistance of Pasteurella multocida type B isolates associated with acute septicemia in pigs and cattle in Spain

“…Since then, several authors have described periodic outbreaks of acute septicemia in Iberian pigs [11], wild boar [12] and cattle [13] in Spain. Additionally, sporadic outbreaks of HS in pigs and cattle have also recently been reported in Hungary [14,15].…”

First outbreak of bovine haemorrhagic septicaemia caused by Pasteurella multocida type B in Spain – Short communication

“…High recovery rates have been reported when antibiotics were used at an early stage of the disease (Shivachandra et al, 2011). Interestingly, in the outbreaks with a low morbidity and mortality, as in our case, treatment was carried out right after the onset of the disease (Risco et al, 2013;Ujv ari et al, 2015;Magyar et al, 2017), while Cardoso-Toset et al (2013 did not provide any information about treatment. Our data also suggest that an early antibiotic treatment can effectively minimise the losses.…”

“…This controversy has also been found in the literature. While low morbidity and mortality were reported in wild boar (Risco et al, 2013), swine (Ujv ari et al, 2015) and cattle (Magyar et al, 2017;Ujv ari et al, 2018), Cardoso-Toset et al (2013) described high morbidity and mortality rates in swine (70% and 95%, respectively). This difference might be attributable to the timing of the treatment administered.…”

“…In cattle and buffaloes, in contrast, HS is considered an endemic disease in some areas of Asia and Africa, causing high morbidity, mortality and substantial economic losses (De Alwis, 1992). North America and Europe have also reported sporadic cases of HS in cattle and wild ruminants (Eriksen et al, 1999;Soike et al, 2012;Ujv ari et al, 2015;Magyar et al, 2017). However, in Spain this disease has not been reported yet in cattle.…”

Re-Emergence and Spread of Haemorrhagic Septicaemia in Germany: The Wolf as a Vector?

“…Therefore, the disease usually emerges in tropical areas in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East [ 20 ]. In Europe, HS cases have been reported in several countries, including Denmark, Hungary, Poland, and Spain during the last three decades [ 2 , 4 , 9 , 11 , 21 , 22 ]. In Germany, HS re-emerged in 2010 after its last noted occurrence in 1986 [ 7 , 18 , 23 , 24 ].…”