No abstract

Lactobacillus acidophilus was isolated from washed and homogenized walls of the crop and caecum of an adult fowl. A strain that adhered well in the Fuller adhesion test was subcultured until colonies on Lactobacillus Selective agar changed from rough to smooth. This coincided with a change from aggregate to planktonic growth in liquid medium and a marked loss of ability to adhere. ultrastructure of cells from both types of culture was studied by electron microscopy. An S-layer formed the outermost part of the cell wall in the strongly-adherent strain, whereas this layer was covered with polymerized material or was absent in strains that lacked the ability to adhere, or those with reduced adherence.

The dosing of young chicks with cultures of normal gut flora has been termed "competitive exclusion" (CE). This study was undertaken to examine, under field conditions, the effect of CE treatment on counts of intestinal Clostridium perfringens (CP) and on the occurrence of CP-associated disease in broiler chickens. A farm having recurrent CP-associated health problems was selected as study site. The study comprised four broiler houses, with one treated and one untreated flock per house. Treated birds were sprayed with the CE product Broilact upon arrival at the farm. All flocks were offered feed containing the ionophorous anticoccidial agent narasin. The feed did not contain growth promoters. Treatment was associated with positive but statistically nonsignificant effects on gut health. Delayed intestinal proliferation of CP and delayed appearance of CP-associated gut lesions were found in CE-treated flocks. This delay was associated with improved production performance at slaughter.

No abstract

Extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBL) and class C serine β-lactamases (pAmpC) able to hydrolyze third-generation cephalosporins are a recognized threat to the efficacy of these drugs in treating serious infections. Broiler chicks are a known source of Escherichia coli harboring genes for these enzymes. Competitive exclusion (CE) has been used for decades in Finland to prevent the colonization of broiler ceca by Salmonella, but has not been widely used in Sweden. The markedly different prevalences of ESBL- or pAmpC-producing E. coli at slaughter in broilers produced in the 2 countries suggest a potential role for CE. The present study was undertaken to determine the efficacy of a commercial CE product in reducing the colonization of broiler ceca by ESBL- or pAmpC-producing E. coli. The challenge organisms were isolated from healthy broilers in Sweden. Each E. coli strain (1 ESBL and 2 pAmpC types) was subjected to 4 replicate trials. In each trial, a group of 20 newly hatched Ross breed chicks were treated by gavage with the CE product, whereas another group of 20 was left untreated. The next day, all 40 chicks were inoculated by gavage with the E. coli strain. The chicks were reared in cardboard boxes and received feed and water ad libitum. After a week the chicks were asphyxiated with CO(2), and their ceca removed and examined for the presence of the E. coli strains. The median and quartiles of the challenge E. coli estimates in the groups were determined, and the treated and control groups were compared with the Wilcoxon 2-sample test. In each trial, a substantial and statistically significant or highly significant reduction was observed in the colonization of the ceca of CE-treated chicks by E. coli strains, compared with that of untreated control. Referring to an arbitrary criterion for high shedders presented in the literature, it was concluded that at least for the ESBL E. coli, the results were also of epidemiological relevance.