Humoral responses and salmonellosis protection in chickens given a vitamin-dependent Salmonella typhimurium mutant.

Humoral responses in chickens inoculated with an aromatic vitamin dependent (Aro-) Salmonella typhimurium mutant (STM) were studied to ascertain the efficacy of the organism as a vaccine for salmonellosis and possibly as a delivery system for antigens from enteric pathogens of chickens. Serum antibody responses in chickens that were given oral or subcutaneous inoculations of the bacterium followed the classic order of antibody production, with IgM being detected first, followed by IgG and IgA. Antibody responses in the gut of orally inoculated chickens were restricted to IgG and IgA. Weight gain measured in chickens given high doses of STM (up to 5 x 10(9)) orally, revealed that the bacterium did not adversely affect the chickens; in fact, inoculated chickens had significantly higher body weights than controls at the same age. Salmonellosis protection of chickens by oral vaccination with STM was examined in a vaccination/challenge experiment. The experiment revealed that oral vaccination reduced excretion of a virulent S. typhimurium used as the challenge organism.