S. enterica infections and environmental contamination were common at this facility. A portion of the Salmonella strains detected on the premises was likely introduced via raw meat that was the primary dietary constituent. Some strains appeared to be widely disseminated in the population. Feeding meat that had not been cooked properly, particularly meat classified as unfit for human consumption, likely contributed to the infections in these dogs.

A field strain of Enterococcus faecalis was administered to broiler chicks at doses of 0, 3 ؋ 10 6 , 1.5 ؋ 10 7 , and 2 ؋ 10 7 bacteria/bird either intra-abdominally or intravenously. In trials 1 to 3, birds were reared communally in a broiler house on pine shaving litter. In trial 4, challenged and control birds were maintained in separate isolation rooms in metal cages with raised wire floors. Challenged birds exhibited a characteristic cavity or depression in the external wall of the right ventricle. A subjective scoring system was devised to quantify challenge effects by assigning each heart a score of 1 to 4. The average number of birds, over all trials and over all dose levels, exhibiting the ventricular cavity was 93%. This value in controls was 5%. The average heart score for challenged birds was 3.1, and that for controls was 0.20. Heart scores of challenged and control chicks were not different in birds reared communally or in separate isolation rooms. Additionally, both routes of administration were equally effective. Results suggest that challenge with E. faecalis caused pulmonary hypertension.

Broiler chicks were reared in environmental chambers. All birds were started under ideal conditions, i.e., 30.6 C with 35% RH. Beginning at Day 36, half of the chicks were maintained at 24 C and 35% RH. The other half were subjected to a cyclic temperature-RH regime that approximated a typical August day in central Mississippi (heat treatment). Half of each of the described groups received implants of osmotic pumps that released adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) at 8 IU/kg BW/d for 7 d. The remaining birds received placebo pumps. The main effects of ACTH and heat treatments were similar. Both treatments caused reductions in BW, carcass weight (CW), carcass protein (CP), and muscle calorie (C) content. ACTH, but not heat, reduced carcass moisture (M). Carcass fat and ash, however, were not affected. Most changes were not reversed after 1 wk of recovery. Although visible signs of pale, soft, exudative muscle (PSE) were present, "white" areas of muscle were absent. The decreased meat yield and detrimental changes in meat quality suggest that stress, whether induced hormonally or by exposure to over-heating, caused losses that were as severe as those associated with PSE under field conditions.

In 2003 the United States Department of Agriculture established USDA VetNet. It was modeled after PulseNet USA, the national molecular subtyping network for foodborne disease surveillance. The objectives of USDA VetNet are: to use pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) to subtype zoonotic pathogens submitted to the animal arm of the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS); examine VetNet and PulseNet PFGE patterns; and use the data for surveillance and investigation of suspected foodborne illness outbreaks. Whereas PulseNet subtypes 7 foodborne disease-causing bacteria- Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella, Shigella, Listeria monocytogenes, Campylobacter, Yersinia pestis, and Vibrio cholerae-VetNet at present subtypes nontyphoidal Salmonella serotypes and Campylobacter from animals, including diagnostic specimens, healthy farm animals, and carcasses of food-producing animals at slaughter. By the end of 2005, VetNet had two functioning databases: the NARMS Salmonella and the NARMS Campylobacter databases. The Salmonella database contained 6763 Salmonella isolates and 2514 unique XbaI patterns, while the Campylobacter database contained 58 Campylobacter isolates and 53 unique SmaI patterns. Both databases contain the PFGE tagged image file format (TIFF) images, demographic information, and the antimicrobial resistance profiles assigned by NARMS. In the future, veterinary diagnostic laboratories will be invited to participate in VetNet. The establishment of USDA VetNet enhances the mission of the agriculture and public health communities in the surveillance and investigation of foodborne illness outbreaks.