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A total of 24 Pasteurella multocida rabbit isolates obtained from 24 rabbit flocks in the Czech Republic during the period of between 2001 and 2004 were analysed by capsular PCR typing. Apart from isolates identified as serogroups A (n = 14, 58.4%) and D (n = 2, 8.3%), eight isolates (33.3%) were identified as members of serogroup F. This serogroup had been predominantly associated with poultry infections so far. The rabbit serogroup F isolates were characterized in detail by ribotyping with restriction to endonuclease MspI revealing two distinct ribotypes. Seven serogroup F isolates were assigned to ribotype 1 and one isolate was assigned to ribotype 2.

Out of the total of 153 farms under investigation that had been experiencing diarrhoea in suckling piglets, the presence of Clostridium perfringens was detected on 60 farms (39.2%). PCR typing of isolates prepared by anaerobic cultivation was carried out by multiplex PCR. C. perfringens type A (37.9%) and type C (1.3%) were detected on 58 and 2 farms, respectively. The cpb2 gene was found in 79.3% strains of C. perfringens type A and in 100% strains of type C. An evaluation of the prevalence of positive identification of C. perfringens with the cpb2 gene shows that the microorganism was diagnosed on large farms with the basic herd of over 700 or 1 000 sows significantly more frequently. None of the isolates was positive as to the specific sequences of the enterotoxin-coding gene.