Competitive exclusion treatment to control pathogens in poultry

Description

Competitive Exclusion (CE) describes the protective effect of the intestinal microflora against colonization of pathogenic bacteria. This review presents the background and current use of the CE concept to prevent Salmonella infections in poultry, by administration of cultures of intestinal origin to day-old chickens. This approach is a well-documented tool for effective mitigation of the risk for Salmonella infections in newly hatched chickens from being further spread horizontally in a flock or vertically in case of breeding animals. The administrated cultures compensate for the delayed development of the protective intestinal microflora in chickens hatched under hygienic conditions in modern poultry production.

Table of contents

1 Introduction 2 The CE principle 3 Development of treatment materials: undef ned CE cultures 4 Development of treatment materials: defined CE cultures 5 Evaluation and administration of CE treatment materials 6 Pathogen and host specifi city of CE treatment 7 Factors affecting the effi cacy of CE treatment 8 Field experience of CE 9 Strategies for use, safety and licensing 10 Conclusions 11 Where to look for further information 12 References