In the summer and fall of 1999 and in May 2000, ten outbreaks of salmonello
sis were diagnosed in adult beef and dairy cows in Belgium. The main clinic
al sign was severe, often fatal diarrhoea. Catarrhal or haemorrhagic enteri
tis was the main necropsy finding. Infected cows excreted large numbers of
Salmonella serotype Typhimurium. Seven out of eight phage-typed Typhimurium
strains belonged to phage type DT104. In contrast with the Netherlands and
the United Kingdom, this type of salmonellosis in adult cattle has not bee
n reported in Belgium before.