INVESTIGATION ON ORNITHOBACTERIUM RHINOTRACHEAL INFECTION IN TURKEYS

Abstract

The objective of the research described m this thesis was to investigate the new bacterium ORT, the disease is causing in turkeys as a neww emerging disease, the epoidemiology and the possible ways of prevention of the disease during the period of 1999-2004 in El-Giza Governorate. Fourty-one ORT isolates could be isolated form commercial turkey flocks-meat type with incidence of8.5%. ORT could be isolated form sinuses, trachea, lung and air sacs of recently dead and sacrificed diseased commercial meat type-turkey flocks A with respiratory symptoms and poor performance in the following manner

respectively, 3 (1.50%), 12 (4.74%), 5 (2.12%) and 21 (9.09%), while no starins could be isolated from heart, liver and bone marrow. Morphological and biochemical reactions revealed the identity of ORT isolates. All of these starins were oxidase positive, catalase negative, highly pleomrphic Gram-negatoive rod-shaped bacteria with variable bicohemcial reactions. The obtained results for determination of the serotypes of ORT

isolates using AGPT proved that all field islolates were belonging to serotype A.• The antibiogram of the isolated 41 starins of ORT revealed that

100% of the isolates were sensitive to amoxicillin and chloramphenicol,

---(_ while all of them were resistant to gentamycin, neomycin and sulfamethoxale-trimethoprim. The results of serological monitoring for detection of antibodies against ORT in natural exposure to the infection in commercial turkey flocks-meat type revealed that the incidence were 32.5% with 2-log titers between 6-12.