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GASTROENTERITIS IN YOUNG CALVES [Vol. XXVIII, Part III,
entertidis, were re-examined by Smith and Scot [1930] and found to be serologically
identical with Salm. dublin of White. These authors concluded that this organism
had a special association with cattle and that the cow's milk was the common vehicle
of human infection. This conclusion has been amply confirmed by the findings of
Bosworth and Lovell [1931], Bartel [1938], Lutje [1939], Henning [1939, 1953] and
others. Henning [1953] in a comprehensive review of the literature on the subject
has shown that the world-wide distribution of calf disease due to salmonella infection
and that the infection with Salm. dublin is by far the most common.
From the available information, infection with Salm. typhimurium appears to
come second in the order of incidence, both as a cause of disease in calves [Baar and
Gliesch, 1939 ; Hansen, 1947 ; Field, 1948 ; and Henning, 1939, 1953] and in adult
bovines [Field, 1949]. In New Zealand, where according to Bishop [1950] and
Josland [1950] Salm. dublin has not been recorded so far, all the 80 isolations made
by the latter author from bovine sources were found to be Salm. typhimurium.
Similarly in Australia, outbreaks of calf salmonellosis due to infection with Salm.
typhimurium appear to be the commonest according to Simmons and Sutherland
[1950]. Out of five outbreaks recorded by these authors four were due to this
organism.
In the earlier literature there has been no differentiation between Salm. dublin
and Salm. enleritidis infections. As most of the outbreaks recorded as due to Gaert-
ner's bacillus or Bact. enteritidis were probably due to Salm. dublin, it is difficult to
make out the relative incidence of typical Salm. enteritidis alone. The later reports,
however, show that the infection with this organism is much less commonly res-
ponsible for outbreaks of disease in calves [Henning, 1953]. Occasionally outbreaks
of calf salmonellosis from other organisms like Salm. bovismorbificans [Atkinson,
Woodroofe and Culver, 1952 ; and Henning, 1953], Salm. bredeny [Howarth, Cordy
and Brittle, 1954] and Salm. orientalis [Simmons and Sutherland, 1950] have also
been recorded.
In India, Shirlaw [1935] isolated a Salmonella-like organism from an outbreak
of disease among young calves with heavy mortality. This organism was later
identified as Salm. enteritidis-var-dublin by Rajagopalan [1938]. After that, though
outbreaks of disease in calves were sometimes suspected to be due to Salmonella
infection [Report, 1942-43] they were not confirmed by bacteriological diagnosis.
Priestley and Artioli [1946] encountered heavy mortality among buffalo calves in
military farms in Lahore area. Out of 282 calves born at various farms under their
observation as many as 204 (72.1 per cent) died within 14 days of birth. Organisms
resembling Salm. typhimurium were recoverd from 76 out of 124 calves examined.
Salm. dublin was not recovered from any case in this group. From six cases over
one month of age dying of scouring disease, organisms resembling Salm. dublin
were isolated from mesenteric lymph nodes of five.
Although Salmonella species such as Salm. dublin and Salm. enteritidis are patho-
genic mainly for cattle, particularly calves, they are pathogenic for man also. In
the literature cited by Henning [1953], it is quite apparent that in the past, these
organisms have been very frequently responsible for widespread outbreaks of food
poisoning in man. Recently McColl [1953] reported an outbreak of food poisoning