Volume 61 (2011) Issue: 2011 No#1

Influence of salmonella infection in chickens on the outcome of campylobacteriosis in experimental conditions

Author(s): Stojanov I, Stojanović Dragica, Milić N, Živkov Baloš Milica, Kapetanov M, Ašanin N, Čogurić Irina

Keywords:Campylobacter jejuni, campylobacteriosis, immune response, Salmonella enteric serovar Enteritidis

Meat, table eggs and their products are very important in human nutrition. Therefore, it is necessary to monitor the health status of commercial flocks as much as the quality of poultry products in the food chain. Campylobacter sp. and Salmonella sp. are widely distributed in nature. The influence of these bacteria on animal health depends on the immune response. If animals are not immunologicaly compromised, the infection is latent and clinical symptoms are absent. Unlike animals, these bacteria cause serious diseases in humans and the morbidity is quite high. The main transfer of infection to humans is via poultry products. The goal of this work was to study the role of Salmonella in artificially infected chickens onto the outcome of clinical campylobacteriosis. It is certain that salmonella infection in poultry damages the immune system of chickens, enabling Campylobacter to multiply and subsequently induce a disease. Three groups of chickens were included in the experiment. The first group received a suspension of field strain of Campylobacter jejuni (C. jejuni) and Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis (S. Enteritidis). The second group received an inoculum prepared from the field isolate of Campylobacter jejuni and the third group received the field isolate of Salmonella enterica serotype Enteritidis, only. In artificially infected chickens Campylobacter and Salmonella were confirmed by isolation and identification according to morphological, cultural and biochemical properties. Humoral immune response of infected chickens was monitored using the complement fixation test (CFT). In chickens infected with C. jejuni and S. Enteritidis the clinical symptoms were recorded. The results from this experiment show that salmonella infection damages the immune system of the chickens enabling Campylobacter to alter the health status of the host.