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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Fayetteville, Arkansas » Poultry Production and Product Safety Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #193659
Title: ORAL TREATMENT WITH THE PROBIOTIC ESCHERICHIA COLI NISSLE 1917 IMPROVES BODY WEIGHT AND MODULATES THE STRESS RESPONSE OF POULTRY IN RESPIRATORY CHALLENGES WITH AVIAN PATHOGENIC E. COLI

Author
item Huff, Geraldine
item Huff, William
item ENDERS, C - ARDEYPHARM GMBH
item SONNENBORN, U - ARDEYPHARM GMBH
item FARNELL, MORGAN - TEXAS A&M UNIV
item SOLIS DEL LOS SANTOS, FAUSTO - UNIV OF ARKANSAS
item Donoghue, Ann - Annie

Submitted to: Meeting Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/3/2006
Publication Date: 9/10/2006
Citation: Huff, G.R., Huff, W.E., Enders, C., Sonnenborn, U., Farnell, M.B., Solis Del Los Santos, F., Donoghue, A.M. 2006. Oral treatment with the probiotic Escherichia Coli Nissle 1917 improves body weight and modulates the stress response of poultry in respiratory challenges with avian pathogenic E. Coli. In: Proceedings of the XII European Poultry Conference, September 10-14, 2006, Verona, Italy. 2006 CDROM.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Systemic infection with Escherichia coli (colibacillosis) is an important problem in poultry production and requires antibiotics for both treatment and prevention. A commercially available human probiotic, E. coli Nissle 1917 (ECN), which has been shown to stimulate innate immunity in mammals, was tested for its ability to prevent the effects of respiratory E. coli challenge in both chickens and turkeys. In Trial 1, broiler chicks were housed in battery brooders and were treated with an oral gavage of 10**8 cfu ECN at day of age, followed by the addition of 10**8cfu ECN/bird/day in feed for 3 weeks. At 1 week of age birds were challenged by airsac inoculation of 250 cfu of a non-motile serotype 02 strain of avian pathogenic E. coli (APEC). In Trial 2 turkey poults housed in battery brooders were treated with 10**8 cfu ECN/bird/day in feed for 3 weeks. Birds were challenged by either airsac inoculation with 150 cfu APEC at 1 week of age, followed by transport stress at 3 weeks of age, or were challenged by coarse spray of 3x10**8 cfu APEC at 1 week of age followed by cold stress during weeks 1 and 2. A sample of birds from Trial 2 was bled for leukocyte differential counts. Birds in both trials were necropsied at 3 weeks of age. Pen means were analyzed by ANOVA using the general linear models procedure of SAS software. In Trial 1 percent mortality was decreased from 52% to 37% by ECN (P=0.1) and week 3 body weight (BW) gain (P=0.04) and total BW (P=0.1) were increased by ECN. In Trial 2, there was no effect of ECN on percent mortality, both stress challenges decreased BW and gain, cold stressed birds had lower BW than transport stressed birds, overall BW was increased by ECN (P=0.02) and ECN protected the BW of transport stressed birds (P=0.007). In Trial 2 both stress challenges decreased the percentage of lymphocytes in peripheral blood and increased the heterophil/lymphocyte (H/L) ratio, which is an accepted indicator of stress in birds. ECN prevented the decrease in lymphocyte percentage in cold stressed birds (P =0.01) and the increase in H/L ratio in both cold stressed (P =0.02) and transport stressed birds (P =0.03). These data suggest that this human E. coli isolate may modulate the stress response of birds and may have potential for development as an alternative to growth promoting antibiotics.