What is "pasteurellosis"

n. (context pathology English) Any disease caused by infection with bacterium of the genus ''Pasteurella''.

n. an acute infectious disease characterized by pneumonia and blood infection [syn: hemorrhagic septicemia]

Pasteurellosis is an infection with a species of the bacterial genus Pasteurella, which is found in humans and other animals.

Pasteurella multocida ( subspecies P. m. septica and P. m. multocida) is carried in the mouth and respiratory tract of various animals, including pigs. It is a small, Gram-negative bacillus with bipolar staining by Wayson stain. In animals, it can originate fulminant septicaemia ( chicken cholera), but is also a common commensal.

Until taxonomic revision in 1999, Mannheimia spp. were classified as Pasteurella spp., and infections by organisms now called Mannheimia spp., as well as by organisms now called Pasteurella spp., were designated as pasteurellosis. The term "pasteurellosis" is often still applied to mannheimiosis, although such usage has declined.