Effect of Eimeria tenella Infection in Chickens Fed the Feed Artificially Contaminated with Salmonella typhimurium

Effect of Eimeria tenella infection on Salmonella typhimurium infection of chickens was tested using feed experimentally contaminated with S. typhimurium. Four experiments were conducted. In Experiments 1 and 2, chickens received feed contaminated with 10(3) or 10(2) cfu of S. typhimurium per g for 5 days after E. tenella infection. In Experiments 3 and 4, chickens were fed feed contaminated with 10(2) or 10 cfu of S. typhimurium per g for 3 days before E. tenella infection. In all experiments, chickens were necropsied 3 to 14 days after E. tenella infection. The number of S. typhimurium in the cecal contents was counted and the presence of the organism in the liver and bile was examined. In Experiments 1 and 2, there was no significant difference in S. typhimurium infection between the group infected with S. typhimurium alone and the group infected with both E. tenella and S. typhimurium. In Experiments 3 and 4, S. typhimurium counts in the cecal contents of chickens in the concurrently infected group were significantly greater than those of chickens in the S. typhimurium alone-infected group.