Phage treatment significantly reduces Salmonella shedding in layer hens and Salmonella abundance on the surface of the eggs they produce

ABSTRACT Non-typhoidal Salmonella species cause 85% of human foodborne cases and infections caused by multidrug-resistant Salmonella strains are increasing. Therefore, alternative antimicrobials are needed, and phage therapy offers a promising tool to reduce the spread of Salmonella in the human food chain. The aim of this study was to determine if a phage cocktail delivered in water could reduce Salmonella shedding in infected egg laying hens, and Salmonella abundance on the surface of eggshells from eggs produced by infected hens. 240 56-week-old layer hens which were environmentally infected with Salmonella were divided into three treatment groups: T1, no phage cocktail, T2, phage cocktail at dose 3×10 6 PFU/day and T3, phage cocktail at dose 3×10 5 PFU/day. The phage cocktail was delivered in their drinking water, for 28 days. Our study found by day 28 the higher phage dose (T2) was more efficient at reducing Salmonella shedding (p