Chicks originated from SPF eggs were inoculated with
Salmonella typhimurium and raised with intact chicks. One week after inoculation the organism was detected from the cloaca of 92 100% of all the chicks, including the latter. Ten chicks died of septicemia caused by the organism.
Ten chickens uninoculated and surviving the contact infection were inoculated with
S. typhimurium at 259 days of age. The organism was detected from the cloaca of seven of them 3 weeks or later after inoculation. It was discharged for a short time in a count of 5.5×10
3 per gram of feces. Autopsy performed 48 days after inoculation revealed the presence of
S. typhimurium in the cecum of 7 birds, the rectum of one bird, and the parenchymatous organs of no birds, in addition to the cloaca.
Of 172 eggs laid by the hens for 11 days, 23 harbored this organism in both egg yolk and shell. Bacterial isolation was negative in 139 eggs laid for the subsequent 20 days.
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