CHARACTERISTICS OF FOWL CHOLERA DIAGNOSED IN GEORGIA, 1989-91

One hundred seventy-six cases of fowl cholera were diagnosed at the Ge orgia Poultry Laboratory over a 3-year period. The disease occurred th roughout the year, with peak incidence during March and April. Fowl ch olera was diagnosed in flocks from 4 to 83 weeks of age, with a mean o f 33 weeks of age. The Pasteurella multocida isolates were highly susc eptible to all antimicrobial agents tested, except sulfonamides. The s erotypic distribution of isolates showed that serotype 3,4 predominate d (40%), followed by serotype 3 (22%), serotype 1 (18%), untypable (15 %), serotype 5 (3%), and serotype 4 (2%). Associations were found betw een the P. multocida serotypes isolated from birds of different ages a nd between the age of the bird and the sites of choice for isolating t he organism.