The origin of bacteria recovered from the peritoneum and yolk sac of healthy chickens

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Abstract
Subclinical peritoneal and yolk sac infections were demonstrated in about 38 and 23 per cent, respectively, of 121 conventional chicks examined during the first 5 days of life; the incidence varied markedly from hatch to hatch. Organisms were demonstrated in the peritoneum and yolk sac of a proportion of gnotobiotic chicks following per os administration of pure cultures of bacteria isolated either from the peritoneum or yolk sac, or from the intestinal tract of conventional chickens. It is concluded that this subclinical infection arises as a result of the translocation across the gut wall of bacteria present in the lumen of the intestine.