Impact of an anti‐Salmonella. Typhimurium Bacteriophage on intestinal microbiota and immunity status of laying hens

Typhoid is a distinct gastrointestinal disease that largely affects the public by consumption of inadequately or partially cooked eggs from contaminated laying hen farms. This has led the research on laying hens to focus on controlling the contamination by an effective anti‐Salmonella spp. agent in the intestine. The treatments included, control, without challenge; PC, Salmonella typhimurium challenged (STC); BP5, 5 ppm bacteriophage/kg + STC; BP10, 10 ppm bacteriophage/kg + STC, on Salmonella shedding, body organs inflammatory reactions, and expression of toll‐like receptor (TLR), pro‐inflammatory cytokines, and heat shock protein (HSP) in the jejunum, liver,and thigh muscle in the STC laying hens. The RT‐PCR method was used to enumerate the number of Salmonella typhimurium in the organs. The birds in the STC groups exhibited the increased population of Salmonella spp. in the excreta (p