title: Protective effects of vaccines against experimental salmonellosis in racing pigeons.
abstract: Five inactivated and one attenuated vaccine produced for the prevention of salmonellosis in pigeons were compared in an experimental challenge model. The birds were vaccinated according to the recommendations of the manufacturers and they were infected by gavage with a Salmonella typhimurium (var copenhagen) pigeon strain. The challenged control animals showed severe weight loss, excessive water intake over a prolonged period, and excreted large numbers of salmonellae. None of the vaccines fully protected the pigeons, and only an inactivated oil adjuvant vaccine was able to reduce the severity of the clinical signs significantly. Mortality was low and tended to increase with the severity of the clinical signs. These results do not justify the preventive use of salmonella vaccination in pigeons. Nevertheless, the oil adjuvant vaccine may help in the effective cleaning of lofts after an outbreak of salmonellosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Avian Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Uyttebroek
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Devriese
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gevaert
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ducatelle
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nelis
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Haesebrouck
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001428:Bacterial Vaccines; D001715:Bird Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control*; D001835:Body Weight; D010856:Columbidae; D004326:Drinking; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D012481:Salmonella Infections, Animal / Q000517:prevention & control*; D012486:Salmonella typhimurium / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D014613:Vaccines, Attenuated; D015164:Vaccines, Inactivated
chemical_list: D001428:Bacterial Vaccines; D014613:Vaccines, Attenuated; D015164:Vaccines, Inactivated