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ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #171591
Title: COMPARISON OF LEVELS OF SALMONELLA ENTERICA SEROVAR ENTERITIDIS CONTAMINATION OF FLIES OBTAINED FROM ROOMS CONTAINING MOLTED OR NONMOLTED INFECTED HENS

Author
item Holt, Peter
item Geden, Christopher - Chris
item Moore, Randle
item Gast, Richard

Submitted to: Western Poultry Disease Conference
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/3/2005
Publication Date: 4/25/2005
Citation: Holt, P.S., Geden, C.J., Moore, R.W., Gast, R.K. 2005. Comparison of levels of salmonella enterica serovar enteritidis contamination of flies obtained from rooms containing molted or nonmolted infected hens. Western Poultry Disease Conference.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Previous experimental studies in our laboratory have shown a variety of effects of induced molting via feed withdrawal on a Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis (S. enteritidis) infection. One of the significant findings was the dramatic increase in the amount of S. enteritidis shed by infected hens which contaminates the house environment and must be addressed during disinfection and clean-up at flock termination. There are also transient members of the house environment such as rodents, birds and insects which may also become exposed to this environmental S. enteritidis. The current study compared the contamination rate and level of contamination of flies released into rooms containing molted or unmolted hens which were initially infected with one million S. enteritidis. We found that, while the percentage of flies contaminated with the organism was similar in both rooms early in the experiment, significantly more contaminated flies were found in the room containing molted hens at later sampling time periods. Significantly higher levels of S. enteritidis were found on flies obtained from the room containing the molted hens throughout the experiment. These results indicate that flies can become contaminated with S. enteritidis at high levels during a molt and may serve as a reservoir for the organism within the house.