Infectious bursal disease virus inoculation infection modifies Campylobacter jejuni–host interaction in broilers

Background Campylobacter jejuni is considered as a chicken commensal. The gut microbiota and the immune status of the host may affect its colonization. Infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) is an immunosuppressive virus of chickens, which allows secondary pathogens to invade or exacerbates their pathogenesis. To investigate the effect of IBDV-induced immunosuppression on the pathogenesis of C. jejuni, broiler chickens were inoculated with a very virulent (vv) strain of IBDV at 14 days post hatch followed by C. jejuni inoculation at 7 (Experiment A) or 9 (Experiment B) days post virus (IBDV) inoculation.