Effect of a Commercial Competitive Exclusion Culture (Preempt [Trademark]) on Mortality and Horizontal Transmission of Salmonella gallinarum in Broiler Chickens

Abstract

A commercial competitive exclusion (CE) culture (PREEMPT) was evaluated for its ability to decrease mortality during the first 10-12 days posthatch resulting from the causative agent of fowl typhoid, Salmonella gallinarum. In the first experiment, chicks provided the CE culture on day of hatch and challenged with 10(5) S. gallinarum on day 3 had a significant decrease in mortality compared with non-CE-treated S. gallinarum-challenged chicks in all four replicates. Mortality for control chicks when averaged across all four replicates was 74% compared with 7.5% for the CE-treated chicks. A second experiment was performed that was designed to measure the efficacy of the CE culture in decreasing the horizontal transmission of this pathogen from infected to uninfected chicks when commingled. Day-of-hatch chicks that were directly infected (seeders) with 10(5) S. gallinarum and provided no CE culture averaged 86% S. gallinarum organ positive and 80% mortality during the first 12 days posthatch across four replicates. Untreated contact (not directly infected) chicks that were commingled with the seeder chicks averaged 84% S. gallinarum organ positive and 54% mortality, and the commingled CE-treated contact chicks (provided CE culture on day of hatch) average 35% S. gallinarum organ positive and 9% mortality during the same time period. These results are of importance to the poultry industry in geographic areas where poultry production is adversely affected by fowl typhoid and indicate that treating newly hatched chicks with this commercial CE culture may be a novel way of decreasing economic losses associated with this highly pathogenic organism.

Assessment of a probiotic Containing Bacillus Subtilis on the Performance and Gut Health of Laying Japanese Quails (Coturnix Coturnix Japonica)

“…Hence, the early administration of 'good' bacteria for competitive exclusion has been proposed as a method to prevent undesirable infections. There are several reports on the capacity of live bacterial cultures (Callaway et al, 2008;Corrier et al, 1998;Nisbet et al,1998;Wagner et al, 2003) and probiotic organisms (Higgins et al, 2007;Higgins et al, 2008;Higgins et al, 2010;Patterson & Burkholder, 2003;Vicente et al, 2008) to reduce the colonization of the gastrointestinal tract of poultry by opportunistic pathogens. The current study showed that the dietary inclusion of Bacillus subtilis enhanced the birds' immunity against Newcastle disease and avian influenza.…”

Screening for Bacillus Isolates in the Broiler Gastrointestinal Tract

“…Despite these current limitations, the administration of spores as feed additives as opposed to vegetative cells clearly distinguishes Bacillus probiotics from other bacterial probiotic formulations and offers a number of clear advantages. These include low cost of production, ease of preparation, resistance to production processes, and extended shelf-life over a wide range of temperatures.The use of competitive exclusion agents in the poultry industry has been described extensively in the prevention of several diseases caused by different avian pathogens, including zoonotic bacteria (1,24,40). However, the relatively undefined composition of some products and the uncertainty regarding their exact mechanisms of action have raised several ethical issues.…”

“…The use of competitive exclusion agents in the poultry industry has been described extensively in the prevention of several diseases caused by different avian pathogens, including zoonotic bacteria (1,24,40). However, the relatively undefined composition of some products and the uncertainty regarding their exact mechanisms of action have raised several ethical issues.…”

A Five-Strain Probiotic Combination Reduces Pathogen Shedding and Alleviates Disease Signs in Pigs Challenged with Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium

“…infection models. Pascual et al noted complete exclusion by 21 days of S. enterica serovar Enteritidis when they used Lactobacillus salivarius in chickens (25), and Nisbet et al observed a significant decrease in mortality due to S. enterica serovar Gallinarum infection in chicks treated with a commercial probiotic mixture (23). La Ragione et al observed no beneficial effect on serovar Enteritidis fecal numbers or colonization of the intestine when they pretreated chickens with Lactobacillus johnsonii (21).…”