Assessment of various treatments to reduce carriage of Salmonella in swine.

In this study, different strategies to reduce carriage of Salmonella spp. in pigs were evaluated. Probiotics, prebiotics, vaccination, and acidification of drinking water were assessed as means of reducing Salmonella. Acidification of water, use of egg yolk-specific immunoglobulins, and vaccination with an endotoxin vaccine did not reduce Salmonella excretion in experimentally infected pigs. A reduction of Salmonella in the colonization of mesenteric lymph nodes was observed with the use of bambermycins and a live attenuated vaccine. A reduction in the shedding of S. Typhimurium was also observed after supplementation with fructooligosaccharides in drinking water. The use of probiotics and prebiotics appeared to change the pig fecal bacterial flora as indicated by Gram staining of smears from rectal swabs.