Serological response of chickens either vaccinated or artificially infected with Haemophilus paragallinarum

The serological response of chickens either vaccinated or artificially infected with Haemophilus paragallinarum (Hpg) serovar A or C was investigated using both a specific hemagglutinin (HA) antigen and a common HA antigen. With Hpg serovar A, both vaccinated and artificially infected chickens produced hemagglutination-inhibition (HI) antibodies to Hpg serovar-specific and Hpg common HA antigens. Most chickens vaccinated with Hpg serovar C had detectable HI antibodies to both types of HA antigen by 3 weeks postvaccination, after which titers gradually declined. In contrast, most chickens artificially infected with serovar C produced HI antibodies to only the common HA antigen; very few of these chickens produced HI antibodies to the serovar-specific HA antigen.     

Serological response of chickens naturally infected with Salmonella typhimurium detected by ELISA.

Four laying flocks of chickens in Britain, each with a history of Salmonella typhimurium infection, were investigated serologically and bacteriologically. Blood samples were taken from identified birds from a single house on each site and sent to the Central Veterinary Laboratory, Weybridge for serological examination using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) and rapid slide agglutination test (RST) using stained S. pullorum. The identified birds were taken to the local Veterinary Investigation Centre for bacteriological examination. On site A no salmonellae were recovered from birds in the house chosen for serological examination. Of these birds approximately 20% had antibodies to S. typhimurium in ELISA which used either a lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or heat-extract (HE) antigen from S. typhimurium. S. typhimurium was recovered from birds in one other of the four houses on the same site; these birds were not tested serologically. On site B, S. typhimurium was isolated from 8% of the birds examined. Of the total tested serologically, a third to half were seropositive by S. typhimurium ELISA using the LPS and HE antigen respectively. A small proportion of birds was seropositive by S. enteritidis ELISA and RST. No salmonellae were isolated from the other two sites although about 10% of birds tested on site C were seropositive in S. typhimurium ELISA. Cross-reactions were seen between S. typhimurium antigens in the ELISA and experimentally prepared antiserum to S. enteritidis. The S. enteritidis ELISA was generally more specific although cross-reacting antibodies were detected in sera from birds on sites A and B.     

Serological and bacteriological investigations of chickens from flocks naturally infected with Salmonella enteritidis

Groups of 10 birds were obtained from four flocks which had shown evidence of natural salmonella infection. S enteritidis had been isolated from three flocks and S typhimurium from the fourth. Each bird was housed in a separate cage and blood samples and cloacal swabs were taken weekly to follow the course of natural infection. After four weeks the birds were killed and examined post mortem. The isolation of Salmonella species could not be related to the serological results. In individual birds the rapid slide test and tube agglutination test could not be relied upon to detect infection; the microantiglobulin test and the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were more sensitive than the other tests and detected some infected birds that were negative by the rapid slide and tube agglutination tests, and also showed high titres in some birds from which Salmonella species could not be isolated post mortem. Sera obtained from two flocks which had a history of natural S enteritidis infection were evaluated by all the tests; evidence of infection was found with the microantiglobulin and ELISA tests but not with the other tests.     

Serological response of chickens to infection with Salmonella gallinarum-S. pullorum detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

The serological response to Salmonella pullorum and S. gallinarum infection in chickens was studied with an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). In broiler chickens, a more virulent strain of S. pullorum produced a significantly lower serum IgG titer than did a less virulent strain. In laying hens, the serum and egg-yolk IgG titers were very similar. In chickens infected with S. gallinarum, high IgG titers persisted for 30 weeks. In chickens reinfected with this strain, each reinfection was followed by transitory increases in IgG lasting no longer than 2 weeks. Serum samples from Brazil taken from a laying flock with evidence of fowl typhoid showed much higher antibody levels than did those from three uninfected flocks. Using lipopolysaccharide as the detecting antigen, infections caused by these salmonellae could be differentiated from those caused by other groups. Incorporation of the appropriate flagella antigen in the ELISA allowed differentiation between infections caused by S. pullorum and S. enteritidis.     

减毒鸡沙门氏菌97A疫苗株安全性和免疫效力试验

本试验将减毒鸡沙门氏菌97A疫苗株分别以不同剂量经口服和肌肉注射接种10日龄AA肉鸡，结果表明，97A对10日龄雏鸡有良好安全性。将97A分别以10     

马尾藻多糖纳米脂质体对人工感染鸡白痢沙门氏菌预防试验

目的：研究马尾藻多糖纳米脂质体对鸡白痢的预防效果。方法：采用人工感染鸡白痢沙门氏菌病症模型,分别加马尾藻多糖纳米脂质体100、200、400 mg/kg于人工感染雏鸡,观察马尾藻多糖纳米脂质体对鸡白痢的预防作用。结果：马尾藻多糖纳米脂质体能降低鸡人工感染沙门氏菌的死亡率。结论：马尾藻多糖纳米脂质体对鸡白痢有一定的预防作用。     

The selection of Salmonella gallinarum, Salmonella pullorum and Escherichia coli in chickens after chloramphenicol administration]

The effect of a chloramphenicol administration was examined on the selection of E. coli of the chicken intestinal flora, and of the infectious S. gallinarum and S. pullorum strains. On the other hand, an effort was made to detect the frequency of the resistance transmission of E. coli to above mentioned sensitive salmonella strains. Fourteen chicken, 12 infected and 2 negative controls were used. It was found that the enteric E. coli strains became resistant in a week's time. Besides, the strains that were used for infecting the chicken neither were selected through the chloramphenicol administered nor did they take the E. coli resistance, via R-factor transmission.     

中药治疗人工感染鸡传染性喉气管炎试验

选用中草药组成方Ⅰ、方Ⅱ,分别以1%、2%、3%的剂量对人工感染鸡传染性喉气管炎进行治疗试验。结果表明,两中草药组方治疗人工感染鸡传染性喉气管炎均有效,治愈率在76.7%以上。经统计学分析,处方Ⅱ2%添加组,连用5d效果最好,治愈率和增重优于其他治疗组,差异极显著(P0.01)。     

Bacteriophage treatment reduces Salmonella colonization of infected chickens

Three different lyric bacteriophages (BPs) were isolated from the sewage system of commercial chicken flocks and used to reduce Salmonella Enteritidis (SE) colonization from experimental chickens. Ten-day-old chickens were challenged with 9.6 x 10(5) colony-forming units (CFU)/ml of a SE strain and treated by coarse spray or drinking water with a cocktail of the three phages at a multiplicity of infection (MO1) of 10(3) plaque-forming units (PFU) 24 hr prior to SE challenge. Chickens were euthanatized at day 20 of age for individual SE detection, quantitative bacteriology, and phage isolation from the intestine and from a pool of organs. SE detection was performed by both bacteriologic culture and genome detection by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Qualitative bacteriology showed that aerosol-spray delivery of BPs significantly reduced the incidence of SE infection in the chicken group (P = 0.0084) to 72.7% as compared with the control group (100%). In addition, SE counts showed that phage delivery both by coarse spray and drinking water reduced the intestinal SE colonization (P < 0.01; P < 0.05, respectively). BPs were isolated at 10 days postinfection from the intestine and from pools of organs from BP-treated chickens. We conclude that the phage treatment, either by aerosol spray or drinking water, may be a plausible alternative to antibiotics for the reduction of Salmonella infection in poultry.     

Serological response of pigs infected with Aujeszky's disease virus

The temporal development of antibody in four groups of pigs infected with different Aujeszky's disease virus isolates was examined. The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay detected antibody by five to six days after infection and the antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity assay detected antibody seven to nine days after infection. Neutralising antibody was first detected nine to 10 days after infection, whereas assays measuring complement mediated antibody lysis did not detect antibody until 10 days after infection. These results are discussed in terms of their importance to the diagnosis of and recovery from Aujeszky's disease.     

Salmonella gallinarum field isolates of the biovars pullorum and gallinarum

In 40 cases salmonellae of the serovar Salmonella (S.) gallinarum were culturally isolated from domesticated gallinaceous birds submitted for diagnostic purposes in the period of 1979-1989. On the basis of the cultural and biochemical features found 35 of them could be assigned to the biovar Pullorum and 5 to the biovar Gallinarum. Of 35 isolates of the biovar Pullorum, 29 were isolated from pure bred chickens of small fancy-exhibition type flocks, 4 from floor-housed adult brown hybrid laying hens and one each from broiler chicks and pheasant chicks (Phasianus colchicus). Acute to subacute courses of the pullorum disease were observed in the 4 flocks of brown hybrid hens. Of 5 isolates of the biovar Gallinarum, 4 were isolated from adult brown hybrid laying hens kept in battery cages and one from floor-housed brown hybrid pullets of the laying type. First cases of fowl typhoid occurred early in the summer of 1988. The disease was characterized by a peracute course in the 4 flocks of brown laying hens and by a more acute course in the pullet flock. The primary source of the fowl typhoid producing organisms was not elucidated.     

乌桕水提液对人工感染鸡白痢病的疗效研究

鸡白痢是由鸡白痢沙门氏菌引起的家禽疾病,该病主要侵害雏鸡,其发病率和死亡率都较高,死亡率可达40%～6O%,甚至100%,常造成大批雏鸡死亡,主要与年龄、易感性、营养、管理和感染程度不同等因素相关[1],给生产规模和管理水平低、环境污染严重的农村是小养殖户带来较大的经济损失.     

Efficacy of bacteriophage therapy on horizontal transmission of Salmonella gallinarum on commercial layer chickens

A Salmonella Gallinarum (SG)-specific bacteriophage isolated from sewage effluent was used to prevent horizontal transmission of SG in commercial layer chickens. Six-week-old chickens, each challenged with 5 x 10(8) colony-forming units of SG, cohabited with contact chickens treated with 10(6) plaque-forming units/kg of bacteriophage, prepared in feed additives, for 7 days before, and 21 days after challenge with SG. Mortality was observed for 3 wk after challenge and SG was periodically reisolated from the liver, spleen, and cecum of chickens. SG re-isolation from organs was decreased and a significant (P < 0.05) reduction in mortality was observed in contact chickens treated with the bacteriophage, as compared to untreated contact chickens, indicating that bacteriophage administration in feed additives significantly prevented the horizontal transmission of SG. These results provide important insights into prevention and control strategies against SG infection and suggest that the use of bacteriophages may be a novel, safe, and effectively plausible alternative to antibiotics for the prevention of SG infection in poultry.     

Virulence analysis of a Salmonella gallinarum strain by oral inoculation of 20-day-old chickens

In order to know the effect of in vitro passages on the pathogenicity of the Salmonella gallinarum strain INTA 91, a lyophilized culture was compared with the same strain recently isolated from a sick bird. The mean lethal dose (LD50) of the orally administered lyophilized culture was determined as 2.04 x 10(8) colony-forming units (CFU)/chicken. There was no correlation between the LD50 dose and the degree of disease produced; doses 10 or 100 times higher than the calculated LD50 did not produce a more severe disease. In trial 1, chickens were challenged with 1.02 x 10(9) CFU per chicken (5LD50) of the lyophilized strain and reached 52.2% mortality at the end of the assay. In trial 2, three different groups of chickens were infected with a recent isolate of the same strain: 2.04 x 10(8) CFU/chicken, 4.1 x 10(8) CFU/chicken, and 2.1 x 10(9) CFU/chicken (i.e., 1LD50, 2LD50, and 10LD50 of the dose calculated for the lyophilized strain, respectively). These chicken groups presented higher mortality rates (90%, 100%, and 95%, respectively) than previous trials, showing that the S. gallinarum strain used here increased its virulence by in vivo infected chicken passage. In all assays, the disease started after an incubation period of around 5-6 days. To obtain reliable and reproducible results in future challenge experiments, a fixed limited number of in vitro passages of the S. gallinarum strain must be determined.     

Precision, repeatability and representative ability of faecal egg counts in Heterakis gallinarum infected chickens

This study investigated whether a precise and repeatable quantification of Heterakis gallinarum egg excretion, which considerably reflects the actual worm burdens, can be achieved based on collection of the daily total amount of faeces from chickens. Three-week-old birds (N=64) were infected with 200 embryonated eggs of H. gallinarum, and placed into individual cages 3 wk after infection for 5 wk to collect daily faeces (N=2240). The total daily faeces was mixed and a randomly taken sample per bird was analyzed to estimate the numbers of eggs per gram of faeces (EPG) and total number of eggs excreted within 24h (EPD). A total of 235 daily faecal collections were randomly selected and further examined to determine between and within sample variations of EPG counts as a measure of precision. For this, two random faecal samples were taken from the daily produced faeces by a bird, and the EPG was determined for each of the samples (EPG1 and EPG2). The second faecal sample was analyzed once more to determine a parallel EPG2 count (EPG2a) of the suspended sample. Precision of an EPG count was defined as its relative closeness to the average of two EPG counts using a relative asymmetry index (Index(EPG)). At an age of 11 wk, i.e. 8 wk p.i. the birds were slaughtered and their worm burdens were determined. There were no significant differences between EPG1 and EPG2 (P=0.764) nor between EPG2 and EPG2a (P=0.700), suggesting that the differences between or within the samples were not different from zero. Correlations between EPG counts, as between and within sample coherences, were r=0.85 and r=0.86, respectively. Precision of EPG counts, as measured by Index(EPG), was not influenced by consistency (P=0.870) and total amount of faeces (P=0.088). However, concentration of eggs in faeces (mean EPG) had a significant effect on the precision of the EPG counts (P<0.001). Similar results were also observed for the within sample precision (Index(EPG2)). A segmented regression analysis indicated an abrupt change in the precision of EPG counts as the response to changing egg concentration in the examined faecal samples. The precision of analyses remarkably heightened up to a breakpoint with an EPG count of ≤ 617. A similar breakpoint was also determined for within sample precision (EPG2 ≤ 621). Moderate repeatabilities (R=0.49) for EPG and EPD were estimated in the first week of egg excretion, whereas the estimates were higher (R=0.67-0.84) in the following weeks. Correlations between number of female worms with daily measured EPG and EPD increased to an almost constant level (r ≥ 0.70; P<0.05) in a few days after the nematode excreted eggs and predominantly remained so for the rest of the sampling period. It is concluded that mixing daily total faeces provides samples with random homogenous distribution of H. gallinarum eggs. Precision of the EPG counts increases as the egg concentration in faecal sample increases. Egg excretion of H. gallinarum, quantified either as EPG or EPD, is highly repeatable and closely correlated with the actual worm burden of birds starting as early as in 5 th wk of infection.     

中药防治人工感染鸡柔嫩艾美尔球虫病药效试验

鸡球虫病是对养鸡业危害最大的疾病之一。暴发球虫病的雏鸡群病死率过40%-80%，甚至更高。目前鸡球虫病仍以药物防治为主，但药物防治鸡球虫病的高昂费用、球虫对抗球虫药的抗药性、对食品安全的空前关注而日益凸显的药物残留等问题，严重制约着养鸡业发展。中草药作为天然药物，在抗鸡球虫病方面有其独特的优点，为了探讨中药不同组方对人工感染鸡球虫病的防治效果，我们进行了本试验。     

Serological response of chickens to oral vaccination with Newcastle disease virus

Conventional Newcastle disease vaccines are not suitable for application to village chickens in tropical countries of Asia. Trials with food-based vaccines are being initiated and the following experiments were performed to evaluate oral vaccination with Newcastle disease virus. Experimental chickens were vaccinated orally with the avirulent V4 strain of Newcastle disease virus and haemagglutination-inhibition antibody responses were measured. V4 virus was introduced into the crop by tube and total faecal output was collected daily and assayed for Newcastle disease virus. Virus was recovered on Days 5 and 6 after vaccination from most chickens that had received 10(7.4) and 10(6.4) 50% egg-infectious doses (EID50) of virus. There was no recovery of virus from birds receiving a lower dose of vaccine. Groups of chickens kept in cages with wire floors were given various doses of vaccine into the crop. Higher antibody titres were achieved with higher doses of virus. This dose responsiveness was not observed when various doses of vaccine were presented on food pellets and the groups of chickens were kept on concrete floors. Similar antibody responses were then seen with nominal doses of 10(5.2) and 10(8.2) EID50 per bird, possibly as a result of excretion and re-ingestion of the vaccine virus. Spread of the vaccine virus was demonstrated when control chickens and chickens receiving 10(7.7) EID50 of V4 virus on food pellets were housed together on a concrete floor. Similar antibody titres were achieved in both vaccinated and in-contact chickens.     

Oral administration of neomycin to chickens experimentally infected with Salmonella typhimurium.

Groups of healthy chickens with a light experimental Salmonella typhimurium infection were fed on a diet containing 225 g per ton (1016 kg) of neomycin for two days. This brought about only a slight reduction in the incidence of chickens that were excreting S typhimurium in their faeces. Examination of caecal contents two days after the cessation of treatment revealed the neomycin had not had any effect in eliminating infection. In one experiment, the neomycin administration resulted in the emergence of enormous populations of Escherichia coli in the alimentary tract of treated chickens that possessed multiple antibiotic resistance of the transmissible type. For these reasons the practice of feeding broiler chickens on diets containing neomycin immediately before slaughter should be actively discouraged.