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Temporal effects of lactic acid bacteria probiotic culture on Salmonella in neonatal broilers
J P Higgins1, S E Higgins, J L Vicente
1Department of Poultry Science, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville 72701, Arkansas, USA.
Insights
Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) probiotics significantly reduced Salmonella in broiler chicks. This probiotic treatment lowered Salmonella Enteritidis and Salmonella Typhimurium incidence and recovery in day-old chicks.
Area of Science:
- Veterinary Microbiology
- Animal Science
- Food Safety
Background:
- Salmonella infections pose a significant threat to poultry health and food safety.
- Day-of-hatch broiler chicks are particularly vulnerable to Salmonella colonization.
- Effective strategies are needed to control Salmonella in commercial poultry production.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the efficacy of a lactic acid bacteria-based probiotic culture (LAB) in reducing Salmonella Enteritidis and Salmonella Typhimurium in day-of-hatch broiler chicks.
- To determine the impact of LAB treatment on Salmonella recovery from cecal tonsils and ceca at various time points post-challenge.
Main Methods:
- Broiler chicks were challenged with Salmonella Enteritidis or Salmonella Typhimurium.
- Chicks were treated with LAB one hour post-challenge.
- Cecal tonsils and ceca were collected aseptically for Salmonella enrichment and enumeration.
Main Results:
- LAB treatment significantly reduced Salmonella Enteritidis incidence by 60-70% and Salmonella Typhimurium by 89-95% in cecal tonsils 24 hours post-treatment.
- A greater than 2.9 log(10) reduction in total cecal Salmonella Enteritidis was observed 24 hours post-treatment.
- Significant reductions in Salmonella recovery were noted at 12 and 24 hours post-treatment, with varying results at earlier time points.
Conclusions:
- Lactic acid bacteria-based probiotic cultures demonstrate significant potential for reducing Salmonella colonization in day-of-hatch broiler chicks.
- LAB treatment can be an effective tool in managing Salmonella in poultry, contributing to improved animal health and food safety.
Abstract:
We evaluated the ability of a commercially available lactic acid bacteria-based probiotic culture (LAB) to reduce Salmonella Enteritidis or Salmonella Typhimurium in day-of-hatch broiler chicks. In these experiments, chicks were challenged with Salmonella Enteritidis or Salmonella Typhimurium and treated with LAB 1-h postchallenge. Following treatment, cecal tonsils and ceca were aseptically collected for Salmonella Enteritidis or Salmonella Typhimurium enrichment or Salmonella Enteritidis enumeration, respectively. In experiments 1 to 3, LAB significantly reduced the incidence of Salmonella Enteritidis (60 to 70% reduction) or Salmonella Typhimurium (89 to 95% reduction) recovered from the cecal tonsils of day-old broiler chicks 24 h following treatment as compared with controls (P < 0.05). Additionally, administration of LAB caused a >2.9 log(10) reduction of total cecal Salmonella Enteritidis recovered 24 h following treatment as compared with controls (P < 0.05). In experiments 4 to 7, upon sample enrichment LAB significantly reduced the recovery of Salmonella Enteritidis from the cecal tonsils at 24 h, but not 6 or 12 h posttreatment (P < 0.05). However, in experiments 6 and 7, when total cecal Salmonella Enteritidis recovery was enumerated, a significant treatment-associated reduction was observed 12 h posttreatment, although in cecal tonsil samples there was no difference in Salmonella Enteritidis incidence at 12 h (P < 0.05). In these studies, LAB treatment significantly reduced recovery of Salmonella in day-of-hatch broilers.
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