SALMONELLA-ENTERITIDIS - VIRULENCE FACTORS AND INVASIVE INFECTION IN POULTRY

Worldwide, Salmonella enteritidis is a clinically prevalent Salmonella serotype, which is associated with the consumption of foods containin g eggs or poultry meat from systemically infected chickens. Several fa ctors, including lipopolysaccharide structure, plasmid carriage and th e expression of fimbriae, have been investigated in relation to their roles in pathogenicity. While each of these factors has been linked to virulence in different hosts, most have been discounted as playing a part in the systemic colonization of poultry. It is possible that rece nt acquisition of virulence factors, in combination with existing mech anisms, has contributed to the development of systemic infection with S. enteritidis and its consequent prevalence in poultry. The expressio n of certain fimbrial structures appears to be linked most strongly wi th systemic colonization in chickens, although the expression of other factors is necessary for infection.