Campylobacter jejuni
is a zoonotic agent responsible for the foodborne gastroenteritis campylobacteriosis. Control of
C
.
jejuni
load in the poultry primary production is recognized as an avenue to reduce human exposure to the pathogen. As for now, no commercially applicable control methods exist at the farm. Several studies tested egg yolk powders, potentiated or not against
C
.
jejuni
, as feed additives for chicken and suggested that the quantity and quality of the antibodies presence in the yolk are determinant factors for the full success of this approach. Unfortunately, data from these studies inconsistently showed a reduction of cecal
C
.
jejuni
carriage. Our first goal wwas to characterize (quantification by ELISA, agglutination test, bacterial antigen recognition profiles by Western blot, bactericidal effect by serum killing assays and
C
.
jejuni
mobility by soft agar migation) the antibodies extracted from egg yolk powders originating from different egg production protocols. Secondly, these powders were microencapsulated and recharacterized. Finally the protected powders were tested as a feed additive to destabilize
C
.
jejuni
colonization in an
in vivo
assay. Despite the
in vitro
results indicating the ability of the egg yolk powders to recognize
Campylobacter
and potentially alter its colonization of the chicken caecum, these results were not confirmed in the
in vivo
trial despite that specific caecal IgY directed toward
Campylobacter
were detected in the groups receiving the protected powders. More research is needed on
Campylobacter
in order to effectively control this pathogen at the farm.
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