Frequency of Salmonella enteritidis and other salmonellae in the ceca of spent hens at time of slaughter.
A study was conducted to determine the frequency of Salmonella enteritidis (SE) and other Salmonella serovars in the cecal contents of spent laying hens at a hen-processing plant in the southeastern United States over a 4 1/2-month period, from October 1990 through February 1991. A total of 1920 pooled cecal samples (three ceca per sample) from 38 flocks representing 23 producers were obtained and tested for the presence of SE and other Salmonella serovars. A total of 359 samples (18.7%) from 37 of the 38 flocks (97.4%) showed characteristic reactions for salmonellae on triple sugar iron agar (TSIA) slants. Twenty-nine of the 359 Salmonella-positive samples (8.1%) were Group D-positive, all of which were found to be SE on further serotyping. The SE-positive samples were from seven of the 38 flocks (18.4%); four flocks originated from the USDA/APHIS-designated Northern Region of the United States, and three were from the Southeastern Region. Serotyping of the 330 TSIA-positive Group-D negative Salmonella revealed 37 different serovars. S. heidelberg, the predominant serovar, was identified in 49.1% of these isolates.
Dreesen
D W
DW
Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Georgia, Athens 30602.
Barnhart
H M
HM
Burke
J L
JL
Chen
T
T
Johnson
D C
DC
D000003:Abattoirs; D000818:Animals; D001434:Bacteriophage Typing; D002432:Cecum / Q000382:microbiology*; D002645:Chickens / Q000382:microbiology*; D005260:Female; D012475:Salmonella / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D012477:Salmonella enteritidis / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D012703:Serotyping