Isolation of Salmonella from chickens reacting in the pullorum-typhoid agglutination test

Over a 3-year period, 134,171 serum samples were screened by the pullorum-typhoid tube agglutination test. Of the 680 (0.5%) reactors, Salmonella organisms were isolated from 226 of the chickens. Thirteen serotypes of Salmonella were isolated. The predominant serotypes were heidelberg, pullorum, kentucky, saintpaul, and enteritidis, and they were isolated from 60%, 18%, 5%, 4%, and 3% of the chickens, respectively. Salmonella were isolated from the ceca of 161 chickens, the cecal tonsils of 148 chickens, the organ pool of 150 chickens, and the ovary-oviduct pool of 110 chickens. Delayed secondary enrichment was required to isolate Salmonella from 36 (15%) of the 226 Salmonella-positive chickens and to detect 20% of the total isolations.