Simultaneous oral administration of Salmonella Infantis and S. Typhimurium in chicks

Background To confirm the hypothesis that Salmonella enterica subspecies enterica serovar (S.) Infantis has higher basic reproductive rates in chicks compared with other Salmonella serovars, 1-day-old specific-pathogen-free chicks (n = 8) were challenged simultaneously with S. Infantis and S. Typhimurium per os. Challenged chicks (Group A) were then housed with non-infected chicks (Group B, n = 4) for 6 days (from 2 to 8 days of age). Group B birds were then housed with other non-infected birds (Group C, n = 4), which were then transferred to cages containing a further group of untreated chicks (Group D, n = 2). A control group consisting of four non-infected chicks was used for comparison. All chickens were humanely sacrificed at 18 days of age, and Salmonella from bowel and liver samples were enumerated.