Salmonellosis is a common food-borne illness in humans caused by Salmonella-contaminated poultry and their products. In hatcheries, 110 Salmonella isolates were identified, mostly from first enrichment, and few from delayed enrichment. The Salmonella prevalence in goose and duck hatcheries was higher when measured by four multiplex PCR methods than by traditional culture (73.8% vs. 44.35%, P < 0.05); 97.3% of 110 isolates were Salmonella Potsdam of serogroup C1 and other isolates were Salmonella Montevideo of C1 and Salmonella Albany of C2. Plasmid and pulsed field gel electrophoresis genetic analysis revealed that isolates from duck hatcheries were more diverse than those from goose hatcheries. In Salmonella Potsdam, host species-specific genotypes were observed in geese for genotypes 3, 4, and 5 and in ducks for genotypes 7, 8, and 9, suggesting that Salmonella Potsdam may evolve into goose- and duck-specific isolates. An examination of 1121 eggs found that only Salmonella Potsdam was identified in 1.8% (7/591) of eggs from chickens fed on the ground, not housed in cages, and in egg content (6/7) as well as eggshell membrane (1/7). In conclusion, Salmonella Potsdam may be a major Salmonella infection in waterfowl and chicken eggs.

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Salmonellosis in humans occurs by consumption of contaminated poultry and their products. To prevent the Salmonella infection in poultry, we investigated the maturity of peritoneal macrophages of chicks, the effect of feeding additives on the IgM and IgG levels and growth inhibition of Salmonella and egg contamination among four inoculation methods. The maximal yield of peritoneal macrophages was in 30- to 33-day-old chicks and intracellular Escherichia coli were eradicated in the macrophages of chicks aged [Formula: see text]29-days old. Fungal [Formula: see text]-glucan sources and serovars affected the IgM and IgG levels. Complement activity affected IgM measurement and the highest antibody levels were observed against S. Enteritidis compared with [Formula: see text] Pullorum/Gallinarum. Furthermore, [Formula: see text]-glucans of Schizophyllum commune and Ganodermaincreased the IgM level against three serovars, while [Formula: see text]-glucans of Ganoderma, Taiwanofungus camphoratus, and Botryosphaeria rhodina increased the IgG level against [Formula: see text] Enteritidis and S. Pullorum. In the growth inhibition, [Formula: see text]-glucans from S. commune and T. camphoratus increased the inhibition against S. Gallinarum. Supplementation with [Formula: see text]-glucan from S. commune in combination with antibiotics and/or herbal medicine or [Formula: see text]-glucan from B. rhodina inhibited the growth of S. Pullorum. Feeding with [Formula: see text]-glucans from S. commune and Cordyceps inhibited the growth of S. Enteritidis. Among cloacal, oral, intraperitoneal (IP) and intravenous (IV) inoculations, IP inoculation stimulated the maximum antibody level, while S. Enteritidis could not be eradicated from the eggs with the highest antibody level. In conclusion, additives with [Formula: see text]-glucan can be used to enhance the immune responses of young and mature chicken against Salmonella infection.