A comparison of transmission characteristics of <it>Salmonella enterica </it>serovar Enteritidis between pair-housed and group-housed laying hens

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Human cases of bacterial gastro-enteritis are often caused by the consumption of eggs contaminated with <it>Salmonella </it>species, mainly <it>Salmonella enterica </it>serovar Enteriditis (<it>Salmonella </it>Enteritidis). To...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Thomas Ekelijn, Bouma Annemarie, Klinkenberg Don
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2011-02-01
Series:Veterinary Research
Online Access:http://www.veterinaryresearch.org/content/42/1/40
Description
Summary:<p>Abstract</p> <p>Human cases of bacterial gastro-enteritis are often caused by the consumption of eggs contaminated with <it>Salmonella </it>species, mainly <it>Salmonella enterica </it>serovar Enteriditis (<it>Salmonella </it>Enteritidis). To reduce human exposure, in several countries worldwide surveillance programmes are implemented to detect colonized layer flocks. The sampling schemes are based on the within-flock prevalence, and, as this changes over time, knowledge of the within-flock dynamics of <it>Salmonella </it>Enteritidis is required. Transmission of <it>Salmonella </it>Enteritidis has been quantified in pairs of layers, but the question is whether the dynamics in pairs is comparable to transmission in large groups, which are more representative for commercial layer flocks. The aim of this study was to compare results of transmission experiments between pairs and groups of laying hens. Experimental groups of either 2 or 200 hens were housed at similar densities, and 1 or 4 hens were inoculated with <it>Salmonella </it>Enteritidis, respectively. Excretion was monitored by regularly testing of fecal samples for the presence of <it>Salmonella </it>Enteritidis. Using mathematical modeling, the group experiments were simulated with transmission parameter estimates from the pairwise experiments. Transmission of the bacteria did not differ significantly between pairs or groups. This finding suggests that the transmission parameter estimates from small-scale experiments might be extrapolated to the field situation.</p>
ISSN:0928-4249
1297-9716