title: Resistance of chicks and poults fed vermicompost to caecal colonization by Salmonella.
abstract: Vermicompost (VC) was produced by feeding the earthworm Eisenia foetida vegetable matter and fresh faeces from adult specific pathogen-free chickens. This was used as a competitive exclusion treatment for chicks and poults against challenge with Salmonella spp. One-day-old chicks and poults housed in floor pens, were treated with VC sprinkled on feed on days 1 and 2. For studies with Salmonella typhimurium, chicks were challenged on day 5 by either oral inoculation with 10(4) colony-forming units (CFU) or by contact transmission and killed 7 to 9 days later. In four trials, conducted on a total of 412 VC-treated and 275 control chicks, and in one trial with about 40 poults per group, treatment with VC significantly reduced (P<0.01) caecal colonization by 5. typhimurium. For experiments with Salmonella enteritidis, chicks were challenged orally with 10(5) CFU and kept in isolators on wire floors. They were also significantly protected (P<0.01) against caecal colonization by VC-treatment. In addition, in one trial S. enteriditis was isolated by enrichment techniques from the livers of nine of 10 non-treated and one of 39 VC-treated chicks.
authors.affiliation: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Food Production and Inspection Branch, Animal Diseases Research Institute, Nepean, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Spencer
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Garcia