Arizona infection, Arizonosis

Introduction

Caused by the bacterium Arizona hinshawii, renamed Salmonella Arizonae. It affects turkeys, mainly in North America, and is not present in the UK turkey population. Mortality is 10-50% in young birds, older birds are asymptomatic carriers. Transmission is vertical, transovarian, and also horizontal, through faecal contamination of environment, feed etc, from long-term intestinal carriers, rodents, reptiles.

Signs

• Dejection.
• Inappetance.
• Diarrhoea.
• Vent-pasting.
• Nervous signs.
• Paralysis.
• Blindness, cloudiness in eye.
• Huddling near heat.

Post-mortem lesions

• Enlarged mottled liver.
• Unabsorbed yolk sac.
• Congestion of duodenum.
• Cheesy plugs in intestine or caecum.
• Foci in lungs.
• Salpingitis.
• Ophthalmitis.
• Pericarditis.
• Perihepatitis.

Diagnosis

Isolation and identification, methods as per Salmonella spp. Differentiate from salmonellosis, coli-septicaemia.

Treatment

Injection of streptomycin, spectinomycin, or gentamycin at the hatchery is used in some countries. Formerly in-feed medication with nitrofurans was also used.

Prevention

Eradicate from breeder population, fumigation of hatching eggs, good nest and hatchery hygiene, inject eggs or poults with antibiotics, monitor sensitivity.