An evaluation of the microantiglobulin test in monitoring experimental Salmonella group C infections in chickens.

Two groups of chickens were each infected with a common C group Salmonella species--one with S montevideo, the other with S hadar. Serological monitoring of each group was carried out using the microantiglobulin test and this was found to compare favourably with bacteriological monitoring for detecting salmonella-positive birds. It was concluded that the response of an individual bird to a salmonella infection could fall into one of four categories. On exposure to a salmonella infection a bird could remain serologically and culturally negative, or, alternatively, it might develop significant antibodies and also become an excreter of the organism. Some birds developed antibodies but salmonellae were never recovered from cloacal swabs or post mortem; others excreted organisms but remained negative on serological testing throughout the period of the experiment. The overall response of a group of infected chickens might also be influenced by the particular salmonella species and strain involved.