The Poultry Breeding Flocks and Hatcheries (Registration and Testing) Order 1989

Article 7(b)

PART II serological method for testing for salmonella pullorum

The rapid plate whole blood test shall be used for the testing of blood samples forSalmonella pullorum which tests shall be carried out as follows–

(1) 0.02 ml of blood taken from a wing vein of a bird, after pricking with a suitable needle, shall be placed on a white ceramic tile using a loop of the appropriate size.

(2) 0.04 ml of polyvalent crystal violet stainedSalmonella pullorum antigen(1) shall be added to the blood and mixed with it.

(3) The tile shall be rocked gently for 2 minutes after which time the test shall be read.

(4) All bleeding needles and loops must be washed in a normal saline solution(2) after each bird has been sampled and tested which solution must be renewed after every 200 birds have been sampled and tested.

(1)

S. pullorum antigen must contain standard and variant strains ofS. pullorum stained with crystal violet and standardised against international standard sera raised against the standard and variant strains (O.I.E. 1986).

(2)

Normal saline solution is prepared by dissolving saline tablets in water according to the manufacturers instructions. Reference: O.I.E. (1986) International Zoosanitary Code 5th Edition, 362–364 (updated May 1988 as International Animal Health Code, updated pages 45 to 47).