Septicaemic Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae infection in the Little Swift (Apus affinis)

Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae was found to be the causal organism of high mortality in a colony of Little Swifts (Apus affinis (Gray), occupying the vertical walls of high-rise buildings. The mortality continued for a period of about 4 weeks. Negative post-mortem findings necessitated a diagnosis based on bacterial examination during which the causal organism was isolated in pure culture from the liver, spleen and heart blood of affected birds.