n. a genus of Gram-negative nonmotile aerobic bacteria that are characteristically spherical or rodlike in shape but occasionally grow into branching filaments. Actinobacilli cause disease in animals that can be transmitted to humans.
An infectious disease following the bite of a rat. There are two causative organisms – Spirillum minus and Actinobacillus muris – and the incubation period depends upon which is involved. In the case of the former it is 5–30 days; in the case of the latter it is 2–10 days. The disease is characterised by fever, a characteristic skin rash and often muscular or joint pains. It responds well to PENICILLIN.... rat-bite fever