Studies on Acinetobacter anitratus

II. Contamination of Hatchery Environments with A. anitratus

Abstract

Acinetobacter anitratus was isolated predominantly, at a rate of 23 to 55%, from dead-in-shell chicks and weak chicks originated from three out of four separate commercial hatcheries. The frequency of isolation of this organism rose in accordance with the advance in embryonic development within the test material. This organism was isolated from none of 575 samples collected from the fourth hatchery tested in 8 surveys during two years.
The laying hen, pig, dog and rabbit, as well as man, were proved not to be frequent carriers of A. anitratus.
The organism was revealed to be distributed most commonly in the soil. Some of the samples collected from fresh water, fish, meat, and crabs were also contaminated with A. anitratus.
The results of the test of the isolates for susceptibility to a virulent phage suggested that a specific type of A. anitratus might persist to contaminate a hatchery environment.