Salmonellae reduction in poultry by competitive exclusion bacteria Lactobacillus salivarius and Streptococcus cristatus.

The objective of this study was to develop a defined competitive exclusion bacteria (CE) culture that will prevent or substantially reduce Salmonella colonization of poultry. The efficacy of 56 potential CE isolates in preventing or reducing Salmonella colonization in chickens was determined. These potential CE were perorally administered to day-of-hatch chicks at 10(6) to 10(8) CFU per chick, and salmonellae were subsequently administered by gavage 2 days later at 5.5 x 10(3) to 5.0 x 10(4) CFU per chick. Feeding chickens an overnight CE culture of Lactobacillus salivarius strains Salm-9, List40-1,8, or List40-41 reduced Salmonella carriage in cecal contents by 2.10, 2.52, and 2.20 log CFU/g (average of three trials), respectively. The percentages of Salmonella-positive chickens after receiving these treatments were 35, 31, and 35% respectively, compared with 84% for the untreated control. A mixture of these three isolates had a similar effect when compared with the results of the individual isolates. A mixture of Streptococcus cristatus List40-13 and L. salivarius List40-41 reduced Salmonella carriage from 90 to 65% and 88 to 31% in two feeding trials, and by 2.2 and 4 log CFU/g of cecal contents of chickens. In conclusion, CE isolates L. salivarius Salm-9, List40-18, and List40-41 and S. cristatus List40-13 either individually or in combination were effective in significantly preventing Salmonella colonization of chickens.