Effect of lactose and Lactobacillus acidophilus on the colonization of Salmonella enteritidis in chicks concurrently infected with Eimeria tenella.

The effect of dietary lactose and Lactobacillus acidophilus on the colonization of Salmonella enteritidis (phage type 4) in newly hatched leghorn chicks concurrently infected with Eimeria tenella was studied. There were six groups of birds in each of two replicate trials: uninfected controls, birds infected with S. enteritidis, birds infected with S. enteritidis and E. tenella, birds infected with S. enteritidis and E. tenella that were fed with dietary lactose (5%), birds infected with S. enteritidis and E. tenella that were provided with L. acidophilus, and birds infected with S. enteritidis and E. tenella that were fed both L. acidophilus and dietary lactose (5%). Chickens were necropsied at 2, 5, and 8 days after S. enteritidis inoculation for bacteriological examination. The cecal population of S. enteritidis was significantly increased by infection with E. tenella. Lactose alone and the combination of lactose and L. acidophilus significantly reduced the population of S. enteritidis in the ceca of birds infected with E. tenella (P < 0.05), but the combination was more effective than lactose alone (P < 0.05). Adding anaerobic culture of L. acidophilus alone did not significantly decrease the population of S. enteritidis in the ceca. No significant reduction of colonization of S. enteritidis in the liver and spleen of birds with coccidiosis was observed.