Case history: Three dairy calf-rearing properties experienced high mortality in calves during 2008 and 2009. Affected calves were aged 13-18 weeks (Farm I), 6 months (Farm II), and 2-11 weeks (Farm III), and the mortality rate was 22/175 (13%), 5/80 (6%), and 60/900 (7%), respectively.
Clinical and laboratory findings: Affected calves rapidly became moribund, were in respiratory distress, and had a fever (40-41°C). Post-mortem examination of nine calves revealed fibrinopurulent pleuritis, pericarditis, and peritonitis. This was confirmed histopathologically on tissues from three calves, one from each farm; aggregates of small Gram-negative coccobacilli were evident on Gram stain. Pasteurella multocida was cultured from tissues from affected calves on the three farms, and PCR of DNA extracted from tissue samples amplified cap-sular type B-specific DNA. Multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) demonstrated that all capsular type B isolates belonged to the same sequence type (ST), ST62, but did not belong to serotype B:2, the only B serotype classified as causing haemorrhagic septicaemia by the Office International des Epizooties (OIE).
Diagnosis: Pleuritis and peritonitis due to infection with P. multocida capsular type B strain.
Clinical relevance: Haemorrhagic septicaemia was excluded as a cause of disease from the three farms, however P. multocida was the primary agent in the affected calves. It is possible the agent has been present in New Zealand for some time but not reported, as there had been no transfer of animals between affected farms. Emergence of the syndrome could potentially be a result of factors other than just the presence of the organism, such as changing management. The syndrome described may be of increasing importance in the future.