Pasteurella multocida infection
Overview
An infectious disease caused by a bacterium called Pasteurella multocida. It is often transmitted through bites and scratches from pets and it can be found in mammals and fowl.
Symptoms
* Cellulitis at site of infection * Swelling at site of infection * Redness at site of infection * Tenderness at site of infection * Discharge at site of infection * Regional lymphadenopathy * Chills * Fever * High leukocyte level * High neutrophil level
Causes
Causes of P multocida infection include the following: * Dog bite or lick * Cat bite, lick, or scratch * Idiopathic (no history of pet exposure) * Immunosuppression
Diagnosis
signs and symptoms of Pasteurella multocida may vary on an individual basis for each patient. Only your doctor can provide adequate diagnosis of any signs or symptoms and whether they are indeed Pasteurella multocida symptoms.
Treatment
* Because P multocida infection is mostly encountered in the setting of an injury following an animal bite, physicians must be familiar with the associated microbiological oral flora of certain animals, especially dogs and cats. * Most animal bites are polymicrobial, with both aerobic and anaerobic bacteria. Several species can be isolated at once. * Several Pasteurella species are associated with dog and cat bites, including P multocida subspecies multocida, P multocida subspecies septica, Pasteurella stomatis, and Pasteurella dogmatis. Pasteurella canis is associated only with dog bites. * Other fastidious gram-negative organisms that have been associated with dog and cat bites include Capnocytophaga canimorsus and Capnocytophaga cynodegmi, especially in patients who had undergone previous splenectomy. C canimorsus infection can cause fulminant sepsis and meningitis, whereas C cynodegmi infection usually causes a milder localized inflammation. * Several other organisms are associated with cat bites, including Bartonella henselae , Francisella tularensis, and cowpox virus. * Medical management of animal bite wounds includes local wound care, standard-protocol tetanus prophylaxis, standard-protocol rabies prophylaxis, and either oral or intravenous empiric antimicrobial treatment. * Antimicrobial treatment is discussed in Medication.