Poult Sci. 1988 May;67(5):689-98. doi: 10.3382/ps.0670689.
Poultry science
R K Gast, J F Stephens
PMID: 3043409 DOI: 10.3382/ps.0670689 Free Article
Four experiments were conducted to examine the relationship between antibiotic administration to poultry and the in vivo proliferation of Salmonellae. The frequency of isolation of drug-resistant transconjugant S. arizonae from the livers of chicks inoculated per os with multiply drug-resistant Escherichia coli and drug-sensitive S. arizonae was directly related to the concentration of kanamycin administered to the chicks in their drinking water. Kanamycin administration was also associated with a significant (P less than .05) increase in the frequency of isolation of drug-resistant transconjugant S. typhimurium from the intestines and livers of poults inoculated with drug-sensitive S. typhimurium and multiply drug-resistant E. coli. Kanamycin administration significantly reduced the spread of drug-sensitive S. typhimurium to the livers of poults inoculated only with that strain. These experiments demonstrate that antibiotic administration to poultry can enhance the proliferation of drug-resistant Salmonella.
