The effect of parenteral iron dextran, with or without desferrioxamine, on the development of experimental pseudotuberculosis in the domestic chicken.

The development of disease following oral challenge with Yersinia pseudotuberculosis (serotype II) was compared in four groups of five chickens treated with a combination of 10 mg parenteral iron-dextran, 10 mg of the chelating agent desferrioxamine or 10 mg of dextran, 2 days before infection. The chickens pretreated with iron-dextran, with or without desferrioxamine, developed diarrhoea and were lethargic 2 days following bacterial challenge. Chickens not given iron-dextran showed no clinical signs of disease. Histological examination of selected tissues indicated that chickens pre-treated with iron-dextran had significantly more intestinal lesions, but fewer lesions in the spleen, than chickens in groups not treated with iron-dextran. In contrast to control chickens given iron dextran, but not challenged with bacteria, there was no stainable iron in the livers of chickens challenged with Y. pseudotuberculosis 10 days after an injection of 10 mg of iron-dextran. This suggests that chickens challenged with Y. pseudotuberculosis utilised exogenously administered iron during infection.