title: Bacterial enteritis in ostrich (Struthio Camelus) chicks in the Western Cape Province, South Africa.
abstract: Ostrich (Struthio camelus) chicks less than 3 mo age are observed to experience a high mortality rate that is often associated with enteritis. This study was undertaken to investigate the infectious bacteria implicated in ostrich chick enteritis. Postmortems were performed on 122 ostrich chicks aged from 1 d to 3 mo and intestinal samples were subjected to bacterial culture. Bacterial isolates were typed by PCR and serotyping. Escherichia coli (E. coli; 49%) was the most frequently isolated from the samples followed by Clostridium perfringens (C. perfringens; 20%), Enterococcus spp. (16%), and Salmonella spp. (7%). Of the E. coli, 39% were categorized as enteropathogenic E. coli, 4% enterotoxigenic E. coli, and no enterohaemorrhagic E. coli were found. The majority (93%) of C. perfringens was Type A and only 7% was Type E. C. perfringens Types B through D were not present. The netB gene that encodes NetB toxin was identified from 16% of the C. perfringens isolated. All the C. perfringens Type E harbored the netB gene and just 10% of the C. perfringens Type A had this gene. Three Salmonella serotypes were identified: Salmonella Muenchen (S. Muenchen; 80%), S. Hayindongo (13%), and S. Othmarschen (7%). The indication is that the cause of enteritis in ostrich chicks is bacterial-involving: enteropathogenic E. coli and enterotoxigenic E. coli; C. perfringens Types A and E (with the possible influence of netB gene); and S. Muenchen, S. Hayindongo, and S. Othmarschen.
authors.affiliation: Botswana National Veterinary Laboratory, Private Bag 0035, Gaborone, Botswana Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Onderstepoort 0110, South Africa lkeokilwe@gmail.com.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Keokilwe
authors.affiliation: Ostrich Research Laboratory, P.O. Box 241, Oudtshoorn 6620, South Africa.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Olivier
authors.affiliation: Private Veterinary Consultant, P.O. Box 788, Oudtshoorn 6620, South Africa.
authors.forename: W P
authors.initials: WP
authors.lastname: Burger
authors.affiliation: Deltamune Laboratories, 248 Jean Avenue, Lyttleton, Centurion 0157, South Africa.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Joubert
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Onderstepoort 0110, South Africa.
authors.forename: E H
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Venter
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Onderstepoort 0110, South Africa.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Morar-Leather
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004751:Enteritis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary; D011201:Poultry Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D015995:Prevalence; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA / Q000662:veterinary; D013019:South Africa / Q000453:epidemiology; D020310:Struthioniformes
keywords: Clostridium perfringens; Escherichia coli; Salmonella; bacterial enteritis; ostrich chick