title: Riemerella anatipestifer outbreaks in commercial goose flocks and identification of isolates by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry.
abstract: Several outbreaks of Riemerella anatipestifer in commercial geese occurred within a short time period. A serious disease was recognized in the affected birds, mainly characterized by depression and severe neurologic disturbances. The morbidity ranged from 20 to 30% and the mortality from 5 to 20%. Generally, the clinical signs started at the age of 8 to 10 days. Post-mortem examination revealed fibrinous pericarditis, perihepatitis and airsacculitis in all birds. Some of the birds also had synovitis of the tibio-tarsal joints and oedematous swelling of the subcutaneous tissues around these joints and metatarsus. Histology revealed a characteristic severe inflammation with heterophilic granulocytes in different organs. Bacteriological investigation was made from several organs and R. anatipestifer could be isolated from all birds investigated. The identification of these clinical isolates, done for the first time by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time-of-flight mass spectrometry, confirmed the aetiology. Sequence analysis showed 100% similarity between the clinical isolates, indicating a common source of infection.
authors.affiliation: Department for Farm Animals and Veterinary Public Health, Clinic for Avian, Reptile and Fish Medicine, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Veterinaerplatz 1, 1210 Vienna, Austria. claudia.hess@vetmeduni.ac.at
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hess
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Enichlmayr
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Jandreski-Cvetkovic
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Liebhart
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Bilic
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hess
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000662:veterinary*; D045826:Flavobacteriaceae Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D005777:Geese; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary; D011201:Poultry Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000473:pathology*; D060494:Riemerella / Q000235:genetics*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA / Q000662:veterinary; D019032:Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization / Q000662:veterinary