Transportation and lairage of pigs immediately prior to slaughter remains to be a potential source of Salmonella introduction into the food chain. At the abattoir, pigs from farms with moderate to high levels of Salmonella are frequently co-mingled with pigs with low to no levels of Salmonella in lairage. Though the time frame of holding in lairage commonly ranges from 2 to 8 hours this is sufficient time for Salmonella to acutely infect the gastrointestinal tract and non-alimentary tissues of previously Salmonella-free animals. Acute Salmonella infection during transport and lairage may allow both the introduction of more Salmonella and new Salmonella serovars to enter the food chain. Salmonella enterica subspecies enterica serovar Typhimurium hasbeen shown to acutely infect both alimentary and non-alimentary tissues in esophagostomized pigs within 3 hours of intranasal inoculation. Additionally, it has been experimentally shown that the most prevalent Salmonella serovars found in swine and humans are capable of acutely infecting both alimentary and non-alimentary tissues of pigs within 3 hours after intranasal inoculation . The objective of this study was to determine the minimal infective dose of Salmonella needed to acutely infect both alimentary and non-alimentary tissues in swine necropsied 3 hours following challenge.
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