Erysipelas in domestic white Pekin ducks

Two epornitics of erysipelas were diagnosed in domestic White Pekin ducks. The first was in 2,000 18-day-old ducklings with a 30% mortality. The other was in 2,400 breeder hens with losses of four or five birds a day. Gross pathologic lesions in birds necropsied from both instances were enlarged swollen livers with occasional subcapsular hemorrhages. Pure isolates of Erysipelothrix insidiosa only were cultured from the livers. Histologic examination revealed congestion and multifocal necrosis in the liver and spleen with associated reticuloendothelial cell proliferation. Special stains demonstrated numerous organisms within the reticuloendothelial cells.