Serotyping of Riemerellar anatipestifer Isolates from Waterfowl in Taiwan Between 2008 and 2012

YP Chen*, SH Lee, HJ Tsai

Animal Health Research Institute, Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan

Abstract

To investigate the serotypes of Riemerella anatipestifer (RA) in Taiwan, RA strains isolated from diseased ducks and geese and from throats of healthy ducks and geese between 2008 and 2012 were serotyped using an agar gel precipitation test. In 542 isolates from diseased ducks and geese, serotype 2 (39.3%) was the most prevalent, followed by serotype 6 (9.2%), serotype 10 (8.1%), serotype 1 (6.3%) and serotype 11 (5.7%). In 822 isolates from throats of healthy ducks and geese, serotype 1 (17%) was the most prevalent, followed by serotype E (9.7%), serotype 8 (4.4%), serotype 2 (3.8%) and serotype 17 (2.8%). In an overall population of 1,364 isolates, serotype 2 (17.9%) was the most prevalent, followed by serotype 1 (12.8%), serotype E (6.1%), serotype 6 (4.3%) and serotype 10 (3.4%). According to our results, there are at least 21 serotypes of RA in Taiwan. Moreover, the isolates of serotype 2 might play an important role in the outbreak of riemerellosis in waterfowl in Taiwan. These results could be applied to develop a strategy to control the outbreaks of RA infection in Taiwan.
Keywords: waterfowl, riemerella anatipestifer, serotype, serotyping.