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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Athens, Georgia » U.S. National Poultry Research Center » Poultry Microbiological Safety and Processing Research Unit » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #306558
Title: Does Salmonella translocate in organs to colonize broiler chicks?

Author
item Cox Jr, Nelson
item Buhr, Richard - Jeff
item Cosby, Douglas
item MCLENDON, B - University Of Georgia
item WILSON, J - University Of Georgia
item RICHARDSON, L - Former ARS Employee
item Berrang, Mark
item Rigsby, Luanne
item Bourassa, Dianna
item WILSON, K - University Of Georgia

Submitted to: WATT Poultry USA
Publication Type: Trade Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/23/2014
Publication Date: 8/1/2014
Citation: Cox Jr, N.A., Buhr, R.J., Cosby, D.E., Mclendon, B.L., Wilson, J.L., Richardson, L.J., Berrang, M.E., Rigsby, L.L., Bourassa, D.V., Wilson, K.M. 2014. Does Salmonella translocate in organs to colonize broiler chicks? WATT Poultry USA. 15(8):p.30-31.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Control of Salmonella in poultry is complicated because of the numerous potential sources of contamination in an integrated poultry operation. In addition, Salmonella can colonize a young chick by entering through an assortment of body openings such as the mouth, cloaca, eye and naval. The movement and potential localization of these microorganisms once they get into the chick is not fully understood. There is evidence to suggest that Salmonella may be translocated to an assortment of internal organs. The objective of this study was to determine if Salmonella can rapidly disseminate into various lymphoid-like organs of young broiler chicks following oral and intracloacal inoculation and does it persist for up to two weeks. Day-of-hatch broiler chicks were obtained from a commercial hatchery and either orally gavaged (OR) or intracloacally inoculated (IC) with 106 cells of a marker strain of Salmonella Typhimurium (ST). After inoculation, the chicks were placed in isolation units and then after one hour, one day, one week and two weeks, the chicks were humanely sacrificed by cervical dislocation, aseptically opened and the thymus, the liver/gallbladder and the spleen were removed and individually analyzed. Regardless of the route of inoculation, all of the different organ types were colonized with the marker strain of ST. When the exposure was via the cloacae, the spread of the ST was more rapid. Further studies are needed to elucidate the mechanisms of dissemination of the ST through the body and into the various internal organs. Whether long term persistence of ST exists throughout the life of broilers, and particularly breeders, has yet to be determined. The role that these previously unrecognized reservoirs play in the possible contamination of offspring of mature breeder birds will also need to be determined. Figure 1. Recovery of Salmonella from the thymus, liver/gallbladder and spleen over time following oral inoculation Figure 2. Recovery of Salmonella from the thymus, liver/gallbladder and spleen over time following intracloacal inoculation