Infectious Diseases 2023

A new study published in the journal Avian Diseases discusses an emerging outbreak of Enterococcus cecorum in broiler chickens in the Southern United States. The bacterium Enterococcus cecorum is primarily associated with osteomyelitis of the thoracic vertebra in chickens. However, there have been cases where E. cecorum caused septicemic lesions and displayed a preference for cartilages, resulting in femoral head necrosis and synovitis. This article examines the manifestation of E. cecorum during an outbreak within a vertical integrator, where the predominant lesions were linked to septicemia. A total of 100 broiler chicken cases, obtained between April and December 2021 were examined using a convenience sampling method. 70% of cases were positive to avian reovirus (viral arthritis).
The study analyzed a total of 100 isolates for antimicrobial susceptibility, with isolates resistant to more than three antibiotic classes classified as multidrug-resistant. The data obtained from the cases were analyzed using descriptive statistics to understand various factors' central tendencies and variability.