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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 #300301
Title: Translocation of Campylobacter and Salmonella to the spleen and liver/gallbladder in 7 and 14 day old broiler chicks following oral gavage

Author
item MCLENDON, B - University Of Georgia
item Cox Jr, Nelson
item Cosby, Douglas
item WILSON, J - University Of Georgia

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/5/2013
Publication Date: 11/25/2013
Citation: Mclendon, B.L., Cox Jr, N.A., Cosby, D.E., Wilson, J.L. 2013. Translocation of Campylobacter and Salmonella to the spleen and liver/gallbladder in 7 and 14 day old broiler chicks following oral gavage [abstract]. Meeting Abstract. p. 11.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Day-of-hatch broilers were obtained from a commercial hatchery and orally gavaged with 0.10mL of either 103 or 106 cells of a marker strain of Campylobacter coli (CC) or Salmonella Typhimurium (ST). At one and two wk after inoculation 10 broilers from the control and each treatment group were humanly euthanized by cervical dislocation, aseptically opened and the spleen, liver/gallbladder (l/gb) and ceca removed and individually analyzed. After one wk, ST was recovered from 100% of the treatment group ceca, spleen and l/gb at both 103 and 106 challenge levels. The CC was recovered from 100% of the spleen and 30% of the l/gb at 103 challenge level and from 10% of the spleen and 50% of the l/gb at the 106 challenge level. After two wk, the low challenge resulted in 90% positive in the spleen and 100% l/gb for ST and 40% positive spleens and 70% positive l/gb for CC. At 106, ST was recovered from 90% of the spleens and 100% of the l/gb, while CC was recovered in 10% of the spleens and 40% of the l/gb. It is obvious from these data that both Campylobacter and Salmonella consistently translocate to the spleen and l/gb following oral gavage, but this strain of ST translocated to a greater degree than the strain of CC. Whether long term persistence of these bacteria exists throughout the life of broilers and particularly breeders has yet to be determined. The role that these reservoirs play in the possible contamination of offspring of mature breeder birds will also need to be determined. Keywords: Campylobacter, Salmonella, translocation, broilers, internal organs