Risk factors for clinical Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Typhimurium infection on Dutch dairy farms.

Risk factors for outbreaks in 1999 of clinical Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Typhimurium infection on dairy farms were studied in a matched case–control study with 47 case farms and 47 control farms. All 47 case farms experienced a clinical outbreak of salmonellosis which was confirmed with a positive bacteriologic culture for serovar Typhimurium in one or more samples. Serovar Typhimurium phage type 401 and 506 (definitive type 104, DT104) were the most frequently isolated phage types (13 isolates). On most farms (66%), clinical signs were seen only among adult cows. The most frequently reported clinical signs were diarrhoea (in 92% of the farms) and depression (in 79% of the farms).