Salmonella arizonae infection and colonisation of the upper respiratory tract of sheep
Brogden, K.A.; Meehan, J.T.; Lehmkuhl, H.D.
Veterinary Record 135(17): 410-411
1994
ISSN/ISBN: 0042-4900 PMID: 7856034 Document Number: 430051
The laboratory infection and colonisation of S. arizonae in sheep with the development of mild proliferative rhinitis is reported. Specific pathogen-free Columbia yearling rams were divided into 2 groups and inoculated either with a culture of S. arizonae containing 1.6 x 108 colony forming units (CFU)/ml isolated from a turbinate of a sheep with a proliferative rhinitis (Group 1: 5 lambs) or with a homogenate prepared from cultured frozen resected turbinates of this sheep (Group 2: 5 lambs). Each lamb received 2 ml of the respective culture into each nostril; the mucosa of the right nostril of each lamb was brushed after inoculation. S. arizonae was isolated from the nares of all 5 lambs in Group 1 throughout the 6 month study period. In Group 2 lambs, S. arizonae was isolated consistently from only the right nostril of one lamb. S. arizonae was not isolated from faeces of any lamb in either group. One lamb from each group was killed on days 8, 28, 64, 118 and 184. Lambs with lower numbers of S. arizonae in nasal passages were killed first. No lesions were seen in the turbinates of any lambs until day 184. Histological examination of any area of roughened mucosa on the cranial portion of the right turbinate (conchae) of one lamb in Group 1 detected a mild proliferative response with intracellular bacilli that were identified as S. arizonae.