Concurrent Salmonella Typhimurium and Eimeria Necatrix Infections in Chicks

Abstract

THE conditions which enable bacterial species normally confined to the intestinal tracts of chickens to invade the blood stream and internal organs have not been elucidated. Stafseth (1931) suggested that coccidia might indirectly cause leg weakness in chicks by opening avenues of entrance to bacteria normally confined to the small intestine. Tyzzer (1929) reported that the severity of coccidiosis in chickens may be increased if the birds are concurrently infected with Salmonella pullorum. Ott (1937) recovered Escherichia coli from the livers of chickens having cecal coccidiosis more frequently than from the livers of chickens not having coccidiosis, following oral administrations of this bacterium. The studies of Seidman and Arnold (1932) indicate that, in rats, degradation of the intestinal mucous membrane makes the intestine more permeable to bacteria. When the rats were sacrificed one-half hour and one hour after the administration of Salmonella typhimurium cells by stomach tube, the bacterium was…