Use of Bacitracin and Roxarsone to Reduce Salmonella Heidelberg Shedding Following a Necrotic Enteritis Challenge Model

Abstract

This study was performed to determine if the enteric disease necrotic enteritis results in higher shedding of Salmonella. Fifty percent of the chicks per pen were challenged with a naladixic acid-resistant Salmonella Heidelberg. A necrotic enteritis challenge model using a coccidia vaccine to induce intestinal epithelium damage was used to demonstrate that neither the disease necrotic enteritis nor the control of that disease with the antibiotic bacitracin methylene disalycilate had an effect on the incidence of Salmonella Heidelberg. However, the feed additive 3-nitro-4-hydroxyphenylarsonic acid, which controls the cecal coccidia Eimeria tenella, significantly reduced the amount of Salmonella Heidelberg in the environment of the chick as measured by dragswabs and also reduced the number of ceca positive in the contact chicks.