Effect of induced molting on the susceptibility of White Leghorn hens to a Salmonella enteritidis infection.
Older white leghorn hens (more than 52 weeks old) were induced to molt using a 14-day feed-removal protocol. On day 4 of feed removal, groups of hens were infected with varying 10-fold dilutions of Salmonella enteritidis, and these hens were examined for S. enteritidis intestinal shedding 7 days later. Molting hens infected with a 10(-2) dilution of S. enteritidis shed 3-4 logs more of the organism at 7 days postinfection than the unmolted group receiving a similar dose. The mean infectious dose (ID50) for S. enteritidis in unmolted hens ranged from 0.65 x 10(4) to 5.6 x 10(4), whereas in molting hens the ID50 was found to be less than 10(1), a 2-3 log increase in the susceptibility of the hens to the organism.
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U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory, Athens, Georgia 30605.
D000818:Animals; D002645:Chickens / Q000382:microbiology / Q000502:physiology*; D004198:Disease Susceptibility; D005241:Feathers / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D011201:Poultry Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*; D012481:Salmonella Infections, Animal / Q000382:microbiology*; D012477:Salmonella enteritidis / Q000254:growth & development*