Induction of the innate immune response in newly hatched chickens is important to reduce the risk infection with bacteria, such as Salmonella enteritidis. CpG oligodeoxynucleotides (CpG-ODNs) can stimulate the innate immune response of young chickens. In this study, 2-day-old chickens were treated with CpG-ODN (treatment) or phosphate buffered saline (PBS) solutions (control). Chickens in each group were orally challenged with S. enteritidis at 3 h and 4, 7, and 14 days after the administration of CpG-ODN and PBS solutions. A significant reduction (P<0.05) in colonization of S. enteritidis was observed in chickens 3 h after treatment with CpG-ODN. Regardless of the time of inoculation, fewer liver and spleen infected with S. enteritidis were observed in the treatment group than those in the control groups (P<0.05). This study demonstrated that CpG-ODN is able to enhance the immune response and resistance to S. enteritidis in neonatal chickens

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