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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Athens, Georgia » U.S. National Poultry Research Center » Egg and Poultry Production Safety Research Unit » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #275310

Title: Salmonella Infections

Author
item Gast, Richard

Submitted to: Diseases of Poultry
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/31/2011
Publication Date: 10/1/2013
Citation: Gast, R.K. 2013. Salmonella Infections. In Diseases of Poultry. 13th edition. D.E. Swayne, ed. Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, Ames, Iowa. p. 677.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Infections with bacteria of the genus Salmonella are responsible for both acute and chronic poultry diseases. These diseases cause economically significant losses for poultry producers in many nations and absorb large investments of public and private resources in testing and control efforts. Infected poultry flocks are also among the most important reservoirs of salmonellae which are transmitted through the food chain to humans. Poultry producers face continually intensifying pressures from public health and regulatory authorities to protect consumers from illness due to contaminated poultry meat or eggs. Poultry and poultry products are among the most frequently implicated animal sources for salmonellae entering the human food supply. This association is a consequence of both a high prevalence of Salmonella infections in poultry and very high levels of consumption of poultry products throughout the world. Widespread and intensive programs for identifying infected poultry flocks and products have increased the likelihood of detecting and reporting infection or contamination. The increasingly international scope of the modern poultry industry has created new and more complex opportunities for the global dissemination of Salmonella.