Pasteurella multocida is a Gram-negative bacterium that causes haemorrhagic septicaemia in cattle and buffaloes. These organisms are involved in the formation of biofilm and can evade treatment. There is no definitive study to screen the genes associated with biofilm production associated with Pasteurella multocida. The present study describes the real-time PCR based approach for screening of genes associated with biofilm formation. Out of 10 isolates screened for biofilm formation, five of them produced biofilm on Congo red agar of which all are resistant to major antibiotics especially cotrimoxazole, nalidixic acid, enrofloxacin and tetracyclines. All the isolates show presence of genes associated with biofilm formation indicating that other factors influencing the biofilm production. We suggest that the future studies may be targeted to unravel the other factors that influence the biofilm production.

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Background: Newcastle disease (ND) is most important devastating diseases of poultry and it causes huge economic losses to poultry farmers throughout the world. One of the limiting factors in controlling the disease’s spread is the wide host range. While pigeons are highly susceptible and produce neurological signs of the disease. ND was suspected in five dead pigeons and detection of Avian Paramyxovirus-1 (APMV-1) in pigeons (Columba livia domestica) was confirmed by Reverse Transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR). Methods: Spleen, lung and trachea were collected and lysates were propagated in allantoic fluids for haemagglutination (HA) by chicken erythrocytes and pigeon convalescent serum inhibited haemagglutination (antibody titers greater than 1/16). Result: A 356 bp product was amplified from infected allantoic fluid by targeting a partial Fusion protein gene, including its cleavage site. Pigeon sample isolates were grown in specific pathogen Free (SPF) embryonated chicken eggs (ECE) showed virulent pathotype based on embryonic mean death time (MDT) of 42 hours and the intra-cerebral pathogenicity index (ICPI) in day-old chicks was 1.8. This is the first instance of APMV-1 identification in Karnataka with the possibility of a disease spillover in pigeons. In this scenario, more epidemiological works are suggested for surveillance of NDV in pigeons in this area of work along with implementation of suitable prevention and control measures.