Isolation, Identification and Production of Salmonella Pullorum Coloured Antigen in Bangladesh for the Rapid Whole Blood Test

Postmortem examination was conducted on 350 (three hundred and fifty) chickens. Related samples (Liver, heart, ovary, spleen, bone-marrow, and caecal junction) were collected. The appropriate materials from the samples were cultured into different media. A total 40(forty) isolates of salmonella pullorum and S. gallinarum were identified and preserved. Characterization of the isolates were done by cultural, morphological, biochemical, and serological tests. Salmonella pullorum antigen was prepared from the local isolate, standardized and tested. This antigen was used in the field for the detection of pullorum or fowl typhoid infection or carrier birds. The antigen consisted of suspension of Salmonella pullorum in 0.50 percent sodium chloride plus 1.5 percent sodium sulfate and inactivated with 1% formalin U.S.P. and standardized with McFarland scale iv or by pour plate method containing 800 million organisms per milliliter and stained by the addition of alcoholic crystal violet. Sterility, safety and potency were tested and found as good as other international antigens. The antigen was found to retain its quality for six months when preserved at room temperatures. The test was made by mixing one drop of the antigen with a drop of blood or a drop of serum, on a glass plate or white tile. The locally produced antigen was as good as antigens from Japan, Hungary, Holland and India. A serological study was conducted with the locally prepared antigen in different farms, and the incidence was 0-4% in government farms, 5-10% in commercial imported breeds and 0-3% in cross breed local farms respectively.