Studies on the Incidence of Salmonella Carriers in Broiler Flocks Entering a Poultry Processing Plant in Australia

To evaluate the practical utility of competitive exclusion as an aid in controlling Salmonella, a survey was conducted in New South Wales, Australia to determine the incidence of Salmonella in 20 broiler flocks at time of slaughter during a 12-month period. The Salmonella incidence was determined by culturing the ceca of 50 randomly selected chickens per flock. The results demonstrated a high level of carriers (more than 30%) in 6 flocks, a moderate level of carriers (11 to 30%) in 4 flocks, a low level of carriers (1 to 10%) in 2 flocks, and 8 flocks from which no Salmonella were isolated. Five Salmonella serotypes, S. eimsbeutel , S. havana, S. luanshya , S. singapore, and S. typhimurium were isolated with S. typhimurium being the most common. Salmonellae were much less frequently isolated from flocks reared on old litter than on new litter.