BACKGROUND: Salmonella Enteritidis in poultry is one of the main causes of illness that can be controlled effectively by some plant compounds, antibiotics and probiotics. OBJECTIVES: This study compares the effect of rosemary, thyme, propolis, antibiotic and probiotic on the immune system and blood parameters of broilers challenged with Salmonella Enteritidis.  Methods: Four hundred and twenty 1-day- old male broiler chicks Cobb strain were divided into seven groups: including rosemary ethanol extract, ethanol extract of propolis, ethanol extract of thyme, and probiotics, virginiamycin (10%) and positive and negative controls, and were reared for 6 weeks. At the end of experiment chickens were sampled and slaughtered. RESULTS: The results showed that plant extracts with probiotics can improve the immune system, reduce serum lipids, reduce harmful bacteria such as Salmonella and E.coli and increase the beneficial bacteria such as lactic acid bacteria. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that the herbal extracts and probiotics can be used as an alternative to antibiotics in broiler diets.

This study compared a new live attenuated Salmonella Enteritidis vaccine candidate secreting Escherichia coli heat-labile enterotoxin B subunit (SE-LTB) with a commercial Salmonella Enteritidis (SE) vaccine for efficacy of protection against SE infection in laying hens. Chickens were divided into 3 groups of 20 each. Group A chickens were inoculated orally with phosphate-buffered saline and served as controls, group B chickens were inoculated orally with the vaccine candidate, and group C chickens were inoculated intramuscularly with a commercial vaccine, the primary inoculation in groups B and C being at 10 wk of age and the booster at 16 wk. Groups B and C showed significantly higher titers of plasma immunoglobulin G, intestinal secretory immunoglobulin A, and egg yolk immunoglobulin Y antibodies compared with the control group, and both vaccinated groups showed a significantly elevated cellular immune response. After virulent challenge, group B had significantly lower production of thin-shelled and/or malformed eggs and a significantly lower rate of SE contamination of eggs compared with the control group. Furthermore, the challenge strain was detected significantly less in all of the examined organs of group B compared with the control group. Group C had lower gross lesion scores only in the spleen and had lower bacterial counts only in the spleen, ceca, and ovary. These findings indicate that vaccination with the SE-LTB vaccine candidate can efficiently reduce internal egg and internal organ contamination by Salmonella and has advantages over the commercial vaccine.

With the extensive use of antibiotics in livestock production, surveillance revealed an increase in Salmonella resistance to the commonly used antimicrobials in veterinary and public health. This serious threat to health care is further exacerbated by the limited epidemiological information about the common zoonotic agent, Salmonella enteritidis, required to determine antibiotic therapy. The aim was to characterise the antimicrobial resistance patterns of S. enteritidis isolates across different timelines (1972–2005) with accompanying genetic changes being investigated. Thirty-seven stored S. enteritidis isolates were collected from the Central Veterinary Laboratory, Harare, with antimicrobial susceptibility determined against eight antibiotics. Plasmids were isolated to analyse any genetic variation. An overall significant increase in resistance (p < 0.05) to nalidixic acid (0% – 10%), ampicillin (14.3% – 50%), tetracycline (14.3% – 30%) and erythromycin (71.4% – 100%) was observed across the timeline. However, the highest rates of susceptibility were maintained for gentamicin, sulphamethoxazole-trimethoprim, kanamycin and chloramphenicol. We report an increase in multidrug resistance (MDR) of 14.2% – 50% with an increase in resistotypes and plasmid profiles across the timeline. Eleven plasmid profiles were obtained in the 37 isolates studied with a minority of isolates (21.6%, 8/37) harbouring a 54 kb plasmid, commonly serovar-specific. A concerning increase in antimicrobial resistance to commonly administered drugs was observed across the timeline. The surge in MDR is of great concern and implies the need for consistent antimicrobial stewardship. No correlation was observed between the plasmid and antibiotic profiles.

We investigated the safety, immunogenicity and protectivity of mix-crude outer membrane protein (cOMP) vaccine against salmonellosis in animals. The mix-cOMP vaccine was extracted from Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (ST) and Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis (SE) and Salmonella enterica serovar Braenderup (SB) isolated from pigs. The mix-cOMP vaccine gave significantly higher antibody response than ST-bacterin and ST-cOMP vaccine in guinea pigs. The survival rates of mix-cOMP vaccinated groups showed significantly higher (100%) than those (0-20%) of unvaccinated control group, challenged with 3 species of Salmonella (ST, SE and SB) in mice.

An ELISA was developed and tested for its ability to detect antibodies against Salmonella enteritidis in chickens. Various features of the ELISA were evaluated and optimized. The outer membrane protein antigens selected by use of the protein immunoblotting method made the assay specific and sensitive. The assay was evaluated in chickens experimentally infected with S enteritidis. Blood samples collected at weekly intervals after experimental infection with S enteritidis were analyzed by ELISA. Results of the ELISA were compared with those of conventional serum plate and microagglutination tests. The ELISA was more sensitive and specific in the detection of S enteritidis infection than the other 2 conventional tests.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an aromatic-dependent mutant of Salmonella typhimurium as a parenteral vaccine for prevention of fecal shedding of Salmonella spp. Pigs and chickens were vaccinated IM, with 1 X 10(9) and 1 X 10(8) organisms, respectively, followed by a second identical vaccination 2 weeks later. Salmonella organisms were not detected by analysis of fecal or cloacal swab specimens from any animal after vaccination. Deleterious side effects were not noticed after vaccination. Pigs were challenge-inoculated PO with 1 X 10(12) virulent S typhimurium 1 week after the second vaccination. Chickens were challenge-inoculated PO with 3 X 10(8) organisms of either S enteritidis or the virulent parent strain of S typhimurium 3 weeks after the second vaccination. Vaccinated pigs shed Salmonella spp significantly less frequently than did nonvaccinated pigs. Vaccinated chickens challenge-inoculated with either S enteritidis or S typhimurium also shed Salmonella less frequently than the corresponding nonvaccinated control birds; however, the difference was not significant.

Nematode eggs in liver tissues of two wild rats were recorded atthe Regional Veterinary Laboratory, Kota Bharu from 2014 to 2015. A total of 15 (2014) and 48 (2015) wild rats were examined by the laboratory for routine screening of zoonotic pathogens such as Leptospira sp. and others. On histological examination of the haematoxylin and eosin (H&E) stained liver tissues, masses of parasitic nematode eggs were observed. The shell of the eggsis striated with shallow polar prominences at either end. Numerous mini-pores can be seen on the outer shell as well. The eggswere identified as Capillaria hepatica (C. hepatica) nematode eggs, which causes hepatic capillariasis in rodents and numerous other mammal species, including humans. The wild rats were alsoshown to harbour Salmonella enteritidis from the intestine, E. coli from the lung and liver but none had leptospirosis by PCR. The purpose of this report is to highlight a common nematode of wildrats that is Capillaria hepatica infection in wild rats in Kelantan diagnosed by the Kota Bharu Regional Laboratory, in orderto create the awareness on concurrent parasitic infections which may cause reduced immunity thereby creating higher risk for other zoonotic pathogens such as leptospirosis.

In this study, a genetically engineered live attenuated Salmonella Enteritidis (SE) vaccine was evaluated for its ability to protect against Salmonella Typhimurium (ST) infection in chickens. The birds were orally primed with the vaccine on the 1st day of life and given an oral booster at 5 wk of age. Control birds were orally inoculated with phosphate-buffered saline. Both groups of birds were orally challenged with a virulent ST strain at 9 wk of age. Compared with the control chickens, the vaccinated chickens had significantly higher levels of systemic IgG and mucosal IgA against specific ST antigens and a significantly greater lymphoproliferative response to ST antigens. The excretion of ST into the feces was significantly lower in the vaccinated group than in the control group on days 9 and 13 d after challenge. In addition, the vaccinated group had significantly fewer pronounced gross lesions in the liver and spleen and lower bacterial counts in the internal organs than the control group after challenge. These data indicate that genetically engineered live attenuated SE may induce humoral and cellular immune responses against ST antigens and may confer protection against virulent ST challenge.

A temporal study was carried out to determine Salmonella prevalence, trends, major serovars, and their clusters from environmental samples, in poultry breeder flocks in Ontario between January 1998 and December 2008. Surveillance data were obtained from the Ontario Hatchery and Supply Flock Policy. Logistic regression with a random effect for flock was used to identify factors [poultry type, year (trend) and season] associated with the prevalence of Salmonella. A cluster detection test was used to identify clusters of common serovars. The period prevalence of Salmonella was 47.4% in broiler-breeder, 25.7% in layer-breeder, and 19.6% in turkey-breeder flocks. The overall trend in the prevalence of Salmonella was decreasing for all breeder types, due primarily to decreasing trends of Salmonella Heidelberg. The seasonal effects varied by year with the highest probability of Salmonella occurring in different seasons. The 4 most common serovars identified were Salmonella Heidelberg, Kentucky, Hadar, and Typhimurium in broiler-breeders; Salmonella Heidelberg, Brandenburg, Thompson, and Typhimurium in layer-breeders; and Salmonella Heidelberg, Saintpaul, Brandenburg, and Muenster in turkey-breeders. Salmonella Enteritidis was infrequently isolated in all poultry breeder types. Temporal clusters of different serovars were identified in all poultry breeder types. Clusters of Salmonella Heidelberg, Typhimurium, and Hadar from environmental samples from breeder flocks were detected during a similar period to clusters from hatchery fluff samples from the same population. Therefore, interventions at the breeder flock-level might help to reduce transmission of Salmonella from breeder flocks to hatcheries and possibly, to lower levels of the poultry production chain.

This study was focusing on evaluating the protection of polyphosphate kinase (ppk) deleted and/or temperature-sensitive (ts) Salmonella Enteritidis (SE) as an attenuated vaccine in chickens. We constructed SEppk, SEts and SEppk::ts mutants and screened those mutants by growth capability in vitro, protection study in mice model and antibody response in chickens. Among the mutants, SEppk::ts-3 was selected because it showed higher growth capability, good protection against highly virulent SE in mice model, and good antibody response in chickens. SEppk::ts-3 also showed good protection against highly virulent SE isolate because it decreased colonization of virulent SE challenge strain in spleen, liver and cecum compared with the non-vaccinated control. The SEppk::ts-3 mutant showed crossprotection against S. Gallinarum (SG) challenge although the its cross-protection rate was a little lower than that of SG9R, a commercial vaccine against SG infection. To use for live attenuated vaccine in chickens, it should further be characterized.