Arthritis in ducks I. aetiology and public health aspects

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Abstract
A pure culture of potentially pathogenic bacteria was obtained from 90% of 233 joints examined in 232 ducks with arthritis. Salmonella typhimurium and Staphylococcus aureus were isolated from 61 and 18% of the joints, respectively. Escherichia coli was obtained from 6% of the cases, serogroup O78 being most prevalent. Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae, Yersinia pseudotuberculosis, Proteus vulgaris, Micrococcus sp., Streptococcus sp., Acinetobacter sp., Flavobacterium sp., Pseudomonas sp. and Aeromonas formicans made up 12 cases. Serotypes other than S. typhimurium were prevalent among ducks from all farms investigated; S. typhimurium was the only serotype demonstrated in arthritis. A high incidence of S. typhimurium in the intestinal tract of ducks, maintained on free range or in open houses, suggests that these areas are sources of infection, and that the intestinal tract is the portal of entry for S. typhimurium causing arthritis. Ducks with arthritis at slaughter should always be totally condemned because of the public health hazard from the organisms most often associated with this condition.

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