Salmonella gallinarum

Salmonella species are important bacterial pathogens. To date, more than 2,500 Salmonella serovars have been identified. Salmonella gallinarum causes disease mainly in adult or growing chickens and turkeys but also affects ducks, pheasants, guinea fowl, peafowl, grouse, and quail.

Acute cases of infection are related to septicemia. In subacute outbreaks, there are dead-in-shell embryos, or dead chicks on the hatching trays.

Salmonella enterica subspecies enterica serovar Gallinarum biovar Gallinarum is a non-flagellated bacterium which causes fowl typhoid, a systemic disease associated with high mortality in birds. It has the same antigenic formula (1,9,12:—:—) as S. enterica serovar Pullorum, which is also adapted to fowl but causes pullorum disease

Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica belong to the family of Enterobacteriaceae and are facultative intracellular bacteria with the potential to cause infections in both humans and animals.

Fowl typhoid fever is usually spread by the ingestion of contaminated food or water. Clinical signs in chicks and poults include anorexia, diarrhoea, dehydration, weakness and high mortality. In mature fowl, fowl typhoid manifested by decreased egg production, fertility, hatchability and anorexia, and increased mortality. This typhoidal infection is generally associated with high mortality in chickens of all ages.

Gross and microscopic lesions due to fowl typhoid in chicks and poults include hepatitis, splenitis, typhlitis, omphalitis, myocarditis, ventriculitis, pneumonia, synovitis, peritonitis and ophthalmitis.
Salmonella gallinarum