A Survey on the Incidence of Salmonellae in Wild Birds

There is a lack of documentary evidence on the incidence and distribution of salmonellae in the free-flying wild bird population in the United States. The first record of S. pullorum recovered from a wild pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) was reported in Minnesota (2). The isolation of S. pullorum from the ovary of a coot (Fulica americana) was reported in Ohio (6). Four outbreaks of S. typhimurium infection in 4 species of wild birds occurred in northcentral New Jersey (5). A survey made to determine the incidence of S. pullorum in wild pheasants in southern Michigan resulted in 5 isolations from 65 pheasants examined (1). Cultures obtained from the internal organs of coots in California (7) were positive in two birds, one being S. typhimurium and the other S. hessarek. A septicemic infection of S. typhimurium var. copenhagen was identified in a common tern (Sterna hirundo), and S. typhimurium infection in a house sparrow (Passer domesticus), both from southeastern Massachusetts (3,4). This report describes 12 natural outbreaks of Salmonella infection encountered in wild avian species in Massachusetts and Rhode Island during a one-year survey (March 9, 1964, through March 16, 1965).