Experimental infection with Salmonella typhimurium and tetracycline therapy

The performances of two breeds of poultry -- Rhode Island Red (RIR) and Local Nigerian Breed -- experimentally infected with a new phage type U 282 Salmonella typhimurium were studied and compared. The effects of infection were less pronounced in the Local Nigerian Breed birds than in the exotic birds which excreted the organisms for a significantly longer period. Addition of tetracycline to feedstuffs did not prevent infection, neither did it reduce duration of excretion of the organisms by the highly susceptible RIR birds but it did reduce this excretion period in the naturally more resistant local breed. Culture of the caecal contents provides the best indication of the presence of salmonella in the intestinal tract.