The Effect of Environmental Temperature on Paratyphoid Infection in the Neonatal Chicken , ,

Lowered brooding temperatures increased the level of mortality caused by Salmonella worthington infection in newly hatched chicks. These groups of chicks experienced a fever condition during the early stages of the infection, but in the later stages of infection they had a sub-normal body temperature. The variations in body temperature were paralleled closely by the levels of blood glucose while the yolk sac weights were not changed. In contrast, the chicks brooded at normal temperatures maintained a relatively constant body temperature and blood glucose and experienced the lowest level of mortality. The oral administration of glucose increased the body temperatures of the chicks which were exposed to a cold environment. It was concluded that a normal body temperature is essential for neonatal chickens to resist paratyphoid infections and that carbohydrate metabolism is involved in the physiological regulation of the body temperature.