FLAVOBACTERIUM-MENINGOSEPTICUM, A PATHOGEN IN BIRDS

Five bacterial isolates,were recovered from various diseased birds (ch ickens, a pigeon, and a zebra finch) and were identified as Flavobacte rium meningosepticum. Four of them were isolated in pure or nearly pur e culture of samples from internal organs, and one strain was isolated in mixed culture of a tarsal joint fluid sample. Except for the last case, there was no evidence of other disease agents. By using phenotyp ic, chemotaxonomic, and genomic methods, the strains were taxonomicall y characterized and could not be differentiated from the human clinica l reference strains of the species. Two avian strains were different i n their phenotypic behaviors and constituted another genotypic subgrou p. In general, all F. meningosepticum strains constituted a single spe cies which was easily differentiated from biochemically similar specie s and phylogenetically closely related taxa.