Multiple drug-resistant Salmonella typhimurium DT104 and DT104b isolated in bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus)

Multiple drug-resistant Salmonella typhimurium, definitive type (DT) 104 and DT104b, were isolated in three separate hunting preserve bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus) outbreaks. The cases involved 4-day-old and 3-wk-old quail with increased mortality of 5%-8.6%, respectively. Postmortem lesions included emaciation, distended abdomens, and dark colon contents, which were gaseous and fluid in consistency. Salmonella typhimurium isolated from the intestines and/or livers was resistant to ampicillin, chloramphenicol, sulfonamides, and tetracycline. The isolate involving the 3-wk-old quail was phage typed as S. typhimurium DT104. The isolates involving the two cases of 4-day-old quail were phage typed as S. typhimurium DT104b.