An outbreak of yolk sac infection and dead-in-shell mortality in common canary (Serinus canaria) caused by Klebsiella pneumoniae.

Yolk sac infection (YSI) and dead-in-shell mortality caused by Enterobacteriaceae in birds are not a rare phenomenon, however there are only a few reports indicating the association between these conditions and Klebsiella spp. among canary chicks (Serinus canaria). There have been reports of high mortality among 1-3 day old canary chicks in an indoor flock of canaries. In order to study the causative agent, yolk sac samples from dead-in-shell and day-old canary chicks were cultured. Klebsiella pneumonia was isolated and identified based on biochemical tests and using genus and species-specific multiplex PCR and later tested for their susceptibility to 13 antimicrobial agents. The isolates showed susceptibility to Gentamycin, Chloramphenicol, Florfenicol and Streptomycin.