ESCHERICHIA-COLI ASSOCIATED CELLULITIS IN BROILERS - CORRELATION WITHSYSTEMIC INFECTION AND MICROSCOPIC VISCERAL LESIONS, AND EVALUATION FOR SKIN TRIMMING

In Alberta, cellulitis condemnations average 0.5% and are among the hi ghest in Canada. Presently, all cellulitis-affected birds are condemne d for fear of systemic infections and public health implications. In a slaughterhouse sample of 102 birds condemned with cellulitis, Escheri chia coli was isolated from 83.3% of the lesions. All hearts were cult ured and from 11.2% E. coli was recovered. Gross lesions of perihepati tis, infected oviducts, and arthritis were found in 11.2%, 6.7%, and 2 .9% of the birds, respectively. Serotyping suggested that visceral inf ection occurs independent of cellulitis in at least half of the cases. There was no correlation between microscopic visceral lesions and pos itive bacterial cultures. Two E. coli isolates of serogroup 0157 produ ced no toxin and neither isolate produced CS31A, F107, or F1845 fimbri ae. Cellulitis lesions ranged from 0.55 to 218.9 cm(2). All lesions un der 16 cm(2) and 64% of lesions up to 48 cm(2) were considered suitabl e for trimming.