Organic acid water treatment reduced Salmonella horizontal transmission in broiler chickens.

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to determine whether an organic acid water treatment could reduce the spread of Salmonella (SAL) to naive birds when infected birds were part of the population. A total of one thousand eighty (1080), day-old Cobb X Cobb male chicks were allocated 60/pen to each of 18 pens by blocks and divided into three treatment groups: T1, unmedicated control; T2 , 0.04%; and T3, 0.08% of an organic acid blend (OAB; ACTIVATE WD). The OAB was added to water from 0-14 days and 42-49 days. Half of the birds in each pen were orally dosed with Naladixic acid resistant-S. heidelberg on Day 0 (tagged) and housed with the remaining uninfected birds (not tagged). Salmonella status of ceca and crops (Day 49 only) was evaluated by random selection of 5 tagged and 5 untagged birds/pen on days 0, 14 and 49. Dragswabs of pens were also obtained on the same days as was mortality, weight gain, feed consumption and feed conversion. On day 49, 22% of T1 untagged birds were SAL+ compared to only 7% of T2 and T3 untagged birds. Similar results were obtained with untagged birds for % SAL+ dragswabs and crops on Day 49. There was no effect of OAB on % SAL+ for tagged birds. Feed conversion was significantly improved by OAB at 42 days of age (1.80 vs 1.77 and 1.77) and at 49 days similar trends were apparent (1.95 vs 1.90 and 1.91) but not different. These results demonstrated that the OAB treatment significantly reduced horizontal spread of SAL to uninfected birds and reduced environmental SAL contamination.