Pasteurella

Pasteurella is a genus of Gram-negative, facultatively anaerobic bacteria within the family Pasteurellaceae (NCBI, 2023). The most medically and veterinary significant member, Pasteurella multocida, is a commensal of the respiratory tract of many animals but functions as an opportunistic pathogen causing a variety of clinical syndromes, including hemorrhagic septicemia in cattle, fowl cholera in poultry, and atrophic rhinitis in swine (Wikipedia, 2023; Merck Veterinary Manual, 2022). In humans, Pasteurella is a frequent cause of zoonotic infections following animal bites or scratches, often manifesting as rapid-onset cellulitis or systemic infections in immunocompromised individuals (StatPearls, 2023). Because Pasteurella is a whole organism rather than a single molecular receptor, it contains multiple therapeutic targets for antimicrobial agents, such as the bacterial ribosome and cell wall synthesis enzymes (PubMed, 2021). Management of Pasteurella infections typically involves broad-spectrum antibiotics, though the emergence of resistance genes, often carried on plasmids, presents an ongoing challenge for treatment (Frontiers in Microbiology, 2020).

Other names

Pasteurella speciesPasteurellaceae

Antibiotics targeting Pasteurella typically inhibit bacterial cell wall synthesis (beta-lactams), inhibit protein synthesis by binding to the 30S or 50S ribosomal subunits (tetracyclines, macrolides, phenicols), or inhibit DNA replication by targeting DNA gyrase and topoisomerase IV (fluoroquinolones) (StatPearls, 2023; PubMed, 2021).