n.
Genus (named after Louis Pasteur ) of rod-shaped bacteria that cause several serious diseases in domestic animals and milder infections in humans.
Members are gram-negative (see gram stain ), do not move, and do not require oxygen. The widespread infections they cause, referred to by the general term pasteurelloses , are transmitted by direct contact and, in some cases, by ticks and fleas. Control by vaccine is variable, as is treatment with penicillin and other antibiotics.