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Abstract
Salmonella remains an important pathogen in recent years effecting both humans and animals. Poultry is the main source of Salmonella infection in humans. Many Salmonella strains are becoming resistant to antibiotics, which makes it hard to eliminate the infection. Much needs to be learned about how chicken immune systems react to Salmonella infections. In this study, the chicken immune response to Salmonella infection in the presence of subtherapeutic and therapeutic antibiotics was analyzed. Understanding these effects will provide knowledge about how the immune system works under these conditions. These data indicated that gut cytokine mRNA expression was affected by Salmonella infection and by administration of subtherapeutic and therapeutic antibiotics, while hormones such as IGF-I, T3, and T4 did not appear to be affected. Expression of Salmonella to subtherapeutic doses of antibiotics resulted in increased resistance to antimicrobials.