Chickens at selected points in the slaughter process and after slaughter on the dressing line in poultry plants were sampled and analyzed for Salmonella. These chickens came from the northeast part of Poland. The examinations were carried out in quarters I, II, III, and IV of 1999. All the birds were determined to be healthy by a veterinary inspection. Swab samples were taken from the cloaca after stunning and from the skin surface and body cavity of the whole bird after evisceration, after rinsing at the final rinse station but before chilling in the spin-chiller, and after cooling in the continuous cooling plant at the end of the production day. In 1999, 400 whole chickens were examined. The percentage of these 400 chickens from which Salmonella spp. were isolated was relatively high (23.75%; Salmonella-positive results were observed in 95 cases). Salmonella spp. were found after stunning in 6% of the chickens (6 of 100 samples), after evisceration in 24% (24 of 100), before cooling in 52% (52 of 100), and after cooling in 13% (13 of 100). These results show that Salmonella spp. were found more often at some processing points than at others. The lowest Salmonella spp. contamination rate (6%) for slaughter birds was found after stunning, and the highest contamination rate was found before chilling (52%). The serological types of Salmonella spp. isolated from whole chickens were Salmonella Enteritidis, Salmonella Typhimurium, Salmonella Saintpaul, Salmonella Agona, and Salmonella Infantis. The results of these investigations indicate that Salmonella Enteritidis is the dominant serological type in infections of slaughter chickens, as it is in many countries.

Mounting evidence has indicated that lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is implicated in neuroimmunological responses, but the body’s response to subclinical doses of bacterial endotoxin remains poorly understood. The influence of a low single dose of LPS from Salmonella Enteritidis, which does not result in any clinical symptoms of intoxication (subclinical lipopolysaccharide), on selected cells and signal molecules of the neuroimmune system was tested. Five juvenile crossbred female pigs were intravenously injected with LPS from S. Enteritidis (5 μg/kg body weight (b.w.)), while five pigs from the control group received sodium chloride in the same way. Our data demonstrated that subclinical LPS from S. Enteritidis increased levels of dopamine in the brain and neuropeptides such as substance P (SP), galanin (GAL), neuropeptide Y (NPY), and active intestinal peptide (VIP) in the cervical lymph nodes with serum hyperhaptoglobinaemia and reduction of plasma CD4 and CD8 T-lymphocytes seven days after lipopolysaccharide administration. CD4 and CD8 T-lymphocytes from the cervical lymph node and serum interleukin-6 and tumour necrosis factor α showed no significant differences between the control and lipopolysaccharide groups. Subclinical lipopolysaccharide from S. Enteritidis can affect cells and signal molecules of the neuroimmune system. The presence of subclinical lipopolysaccharide from S. Enteritidis is associated with unknown prolonged consequences and may require eradication and a deeper search into the asymptomatic carrier state of Salmonella spp.

The aim of the present study was to establish the origin and chemical phenotyping of neurons involved in skin innervation of the porcine hind leg. The dorsal root ganglia (DRGs) of the lumbar (L-L) and sacral (S-S) spinal nerves were visualized using the fluorescent tracer Fast Blue (FB). The morphometric analysis of FB-positive (FB+)neurons showed that in the L, L, S and S DRGs, the small-sized perikarya constituted the major population, whereas in the L and S DRGs the medium-sized cells made up the major population. In all these ganglia, large-sized FB+ perikarya constituted only a small percentage of all FB+ neurons. Immunohistochemistry revealed that small- and medium-sized FB+ perikarya contained sensory markers such as: substance P (SP), calcitonin gene related peptide (CGRP) and galanin (GAL); as well as various other factors such as somatostatin (SOM), calbindin-D28k (CB), pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) and neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS). Meanwhile large-sized FB+ perikarya usually expressed SP, CGRP or PACAP. In the lumbar DRGs, some large cells also contained SOM and CB. Double-labeling immunohistochemistry showed that SP-positive neurons co-expressed CGRP, GAL or PACAP; while PACAP-positive cells co-expressed GAL or nNOS. Neurons stained for SOM were also immunoreactive for CB or GAL, while neurons stained for nNOS were also immunoreactive for GAL. In conclusion, the present data has indicated that the distribution and chemical phenotyping of the porcine skin-projecting neurons are different within DRGs of the lumbar (forming a femoral nerve) and sacral (forming a sciatic nerve) spinal nerves.

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