Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to C L Hofacre.
A flock of 15,000 leghorn-type hens experienced a 10% drop in egg production. Enlarged, blue combs and diarrhea were also present. Clinical signs, postmortem and histopathological lesions, and response to therapy were compatible with a diagnosis of mycotoxin intoxication. However, all feed samples submitted were negative for mycotoxins, so the diagnosis could not be confirmed.
A commercial preparation of normal avian gut flora (NAGF) was aerosolized for an extended period over turkey hatching eggs during pipping and hatching to examine any protective effects against natural exposure to salmonellae. Turkey hatching eggs, produced by salmonellae-infected breeder flocks and hatched in a commercial hatchery with a history of salmonellae contamination, were used in two trials. In Trial 1, four doses of NAGF inoculum per hatching egg were aerosolized through an automated hatcher fogging system during the final 48 hr of the pipping and hatching process. In Trial 2, two doses of NAGF inoculum were aerosolized in a like manner. In both trials, poults were exposed to Salmonella montevideo during hatching, as indicated by samples collected at the time of pull. At day 7, treated poults in both trials were culture negative for salmonellae and control poults were culture positive for salmonellae. In Trial 1, control poults were infected with Salmonella brandenburg, and in Trial 2, control poults were infected with S. montevideo. These studies justify further critical evaluation of the protective effects of prolonged aerosolization of normal avian gut flora during pipping and hatching against salmonellae colonization in turkey poults.
Clostridium perfringens-associated necrotic enteritis (CPANE) is a common problem among rapidly growing broiler strains of chickens that are raised intensively in modern microenvironments. The purpose of this study was to compare the use of Aviguard and three other intestinal bioproducts (two normal gut flora [NGF] products and one probiotic product) in experimental CPANE in broiler chickens. Male broiler chicks were housed in the same environmentally controlled facility and given one of six treatments. The necrotic enteritis infection model (NEIM) used in the present study was effective in inducing CPANE intestinal gross lesions in broiler chickens. Equally important, Aviguard was found to be significantly more effective than either the other two NGF products or the probiotic for reducing gross lesions induced by the NEIM. In addition, Aviguard/NEIM-treated chicks ate more feed and had better feed efficiency than their NGF- or probiotic/NEIM-treated counterparts. Other significant differences among these four reconstituted microbial preparations were not found. Results from this study have additional importance because they further support the use of reconstituted microbial preparations as novel and effective alternatives to antibiotics that can reduce the severity of C. perfringens-associated necrotic enteritis challenge in broilers.