Erysipelas in egg‐laying chickens serological investigation

Abstract

SUMMARYExamination was made of 81 strains of Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae isolated from chickens which had died of septicaemic erysipelas. The strains originated from two flocks producing eggs for consumption, 34 from Flock A and 47 from Flock B. Typing was performed by the tube precipitation and the agar gel precipitation test. All strains from Flock B belonged to type 1b, while 27 strains from Flock A belonged to type 4. The seven strains which could not be classified require further examination including production of antiserum for each strain in order to obtain, if possible, sera with precipitating antibodies.

Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae Infection Associated with Swollen Head Syndrome in a Broiler Breeder Flock in North Georgia

“…To date, only 16 known published articles describing E. rhusiopathiae as a cause of disease in chickens have been reported, and the majority of these cases are in egg-laying chickens in European countries (3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18). It is documented primarily as a disease of market-age tom turkeys and swine herds.…”

“…Additionally, a few wild birds, sheep, reptiles, and amphibians have been identified as being infected with this organism (2). It has been uncommon to find chickens affected by this organism over the last few decades; approximately 16 published articles were found online of this bacterium causing disease in chickens across the world since 1943 (3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14, 15,16,17,18). The majority of these articles describes the disease in egg layer breeds in Europe, with high instances in free-range flocks; only approximately five cases have been reported in the United States during this time period (5,6,8,13,16).…”