THE SEROLOGY OF BORDETELLA BRONCHISEPTICA ISOLATED FROM PIGS COMPARED WITH STRAINS FROM OTHER ANIMAL SPECIES

Abstract

The serology of freshly isolated strains of B. bronchiseptica from pigs and other animals was studied by the agglutination and agglutinin absorption tests. Differentiation was made between heat stable O-antigens and heat labile K-antigens. All strains examined contained a common O-antigen (1). Three heat stable antigens were detected. The heat labile antigens of freshly isolated strains were very different. The major antigens 2 and 3 were not found in combination. A common weak K-antigen (1) was found in all strains. The pig strains were serologically identical (0 1, 2; K 1, 2). The same serotype was isolated from a rabbit. Another rabbit strain was similar to a strain isolated from a specific pathogen free-rat (O 1, 3; K 1, 3, 4). The antigenic pattern in 2 cat strains was O 1, 3; K 1, 3. Typing of freshly isolated strains from pigs with monospecific factor sera confirmed that all the strains so far examined were serologically identical. This uniform serology hampers epidemiological studies of porcine bordetellosis by antigenic analysis. The occurrence of serologically different serotypes of B. bronchiseptica is significant since the final diagnosis must be confirmed by a serological test.