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IMMUNOLOGY, HEALTH, AND DISEASE |

* Southern Plains Agricultural Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, USDA, College Station, Texas 77845; and
Department of Poultry Science, Texas A&M University, College Station 77843
1 Corresponding author: mcreynolds{at}ffsru.tamu.edu
| ABSTRACT |
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Key Words: Clostridium perfringens chicken lactose necrotic enteritis
| INTRODUCTION |
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In the poultry industry, C. perfringens is the etiologic agent of the disease necrotic enteritis (NE). Clinical signs of NE include depression, decreased appetite, decreased digestion, diarrhea, and severe necrosis of the intestinal tract (Ficken and Wages, 1997; Kaldhusdal and Løvland, 2000). The subclinical form of the disease causes a decrease in overall performance of birds and has been associated with hepatic lesions (Løvland and Kaldhusdal, 1999). In 2000, it was estimated that the subclinical form of the disease costs producers as much as 5 cents per bird due to decreased performance (Van der Sluis, 2000). Cost of this disease, including clinical and subclinical infections, was close to $2 billion dollars worldwide. Clostridium perfringens is prevalent in commercial poultry, with 75 to 95% of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract of broilers having tested positive for C. perfringens in previous studies (Tschirdewahn et al., 1991; Miwa et al., 1997; Craven et al., 2001a,b). Processed poultry meat has also been shown to have relatively high numbers of C. perfringens (Craven et al., 2001b). This enteric pathogen has been found throughout broiler production practices, with transmission to humans through the consumption of poultry products (Labbe, 1991; Craven et al., 2001a,b).
Reducing the effects of C. perfringens in experimental settings has been evaluated with a variety of management tools, including antibiotics, vaccines, and competitive exclusion cultures (Watkins et al., 1997; Hofacre et al., 1998; Craven et al., 1999; Brennan et al., 2003; Williams et al., 2003; Løvland et al., 2004). Currently, antibiotic growth promoters (AGP) are predominantly used in the commercial poultry setting and have been shown to improve the health and performance of poultry (Watkins et al., 1997; Bedford, 2000; Brennan et al., 2003). These antibiotics target gram-positive organisms, which are associated with lower levels of performance and health. Continuing pressure to remove AGP from commercial operations could cause increased disease conditions.
Clostridium perfringens is one of the bacteria specifically targeted by AGP, and many of these products, such as avoparcin, adriamycin, bacitracin, virginiamycin, and tylosin, have already been removed from production practices in the European Union (Van Immerseel et al., 2004). Recently, one of the largest fast-food retailers in the world announced that the company plans to phase out the purchasing of animal products that have been exposed to AGP in an effort to reduce the potential effects of antibiotic resistance in many microbial populations that directly affect human medicine (CSR Wire, 2007). This food supplier has asked growers to certify that their meat products have not been treated with AGP and to maintain records of antibiotic use that would be available for company audits and reviews. In the commercial poultry industry, there has been an increase of NE in recent years in antibiotic-free flocks and some flocks that use antibiotics. Developing new intervention strategies to combat this disease condition are needed. Investigations into products that alter microbial populations in the GI tract need to be investigated.
Dietary lactose may have applications that may be beneficial in reducing the effects of this disease. Lactose is a disaccharide that naturally occurs in mammalian milk. Lactose or milk sugar can be broken down into its 2 smaller components of galactose and glucose by an enzyme called lactase. In 2002, approximately 563 million pounds of lactose were produced in the United States, of which 118 million pounds were exported. The increase in production of lactose has led to developing or investigating new uses for this product. Clostridium perfringens can ferment lactose, and it has been shown that lactose can significantly reduce colonization in the ceca of chickens (Takeda et al., 1995). Lactose has also been shown to have beneficial effects on the GI microflora. An investigation in day-of-hatch chicks found that dietary lactose decreased Lactobacillus, Clostridium, and Proteus species and increased bifidobacteria in the ceca (Morishita et al., 1982; Van der Wielen et al., 2002). Our laboratory is currently interested in the investigations of lactose and its effect on the microbial populations of the GI tract during NE. The objective of the present investigation was to evaluate the microbial ecology and clinical signs associated with NE in the GI system of birds being fed dietary lactose.
| MATERIALS AND METHODS |
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Ross x Ross straight-run broiler chicks were obtained from a local commercial hatchery on the day of hatch and were placed on clean pine shaving litter. Birds were reared in 2.4 x 1.2 m pens, allowing 0.12 m2 of pen space per bird. Chicks were provided with water and a 55% wheat-corn-based broiler starter diet ad libitum. High concentrations of wheat in the diet have been shown to exacerbate the outbreak of NE (Johnson and Pinedo, 1971; Truscott and Al-Sheikhly, 1977; Branton et al., 1987; Riddell and Kong, 1992). The diet met or exceeded NRC guidelines for broiler chicks (NRC, 1994).
Experimental Design
In experiment 1, birds were randomly assigned to one of the following groups: negative control (normal broiler starter diet) or 1, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, or 4.5% dietary lactose. Birds were fed the control or dietary lactose diets from the day of hatch until termination of the experiment. In experiment 2, birds were randomly assigned to one of the following groups and fed one of the following diets: negative control (normal broiler starter diet) or 2.5% dietary lactose.
In experiment 1, we evaluated several parameters on 7, 14, and 21 d of age. We evaluated the effects of dietary lactose on mortality, microbial populations (n = 20), intestinal pH (n = 5), and the development of clinical lesions (n = 20, d 21). In experiment 2, two replicate studies were run to evaluate the effects of dietary lactose on the development of clinical lesions (n = 35, d 21) and mortality. The data from these replicate studies were pooled and reported.
Immunosuppression Vaccine Administration
As previously described, a commercial bursal disease vaccine was used as an immunosuppressant in the present investigations (McReynolds et al., 2004). All experimental birds were administered the vaccine on d 14 at a level 10x the recommended dose of the manufacturer via ocular route to immunocompromise the chicks. Challenge doses, at these concentrations, were chosen based on previous research (data not shown) and have been known to show signs of the disease state.
C. perfringens Administration
Four field isolates of C. perfringens (type A) from different geographical locations (1 isolate from Texas and Virginia and 2 isolates from Georgia) were cultured separately then combined and provided to the appropriate treatment groups (McReynolds et al., 2004). For challenge, the isolates were grown in thioglycollate medium for 12 h, and the chicks were challenged via oral gavage (3 mL) with 107 cfu of C. perfringens/mL. Birds were administered C. perfringens, beginning on d 17, twice daily for 3 d. Challenge doses, at these concentrations, were chosen based on previous research (data not shown) and have been known to show signs of the disease state with intestinal lesions.
Bacterial Culture
To quantitatively measure populations of C. perfringens, E. coli, Enterococcus, and lactobacilli, a section of the small intestine about 6 in. (15.24 cm) in length, just cranial to Meckels diverticulum, was removed. The sample was placed in 10 mL of anaerobic thioglycollate, stomached for 30 s, and 0.5 mL of gut contents was removed and placed into 4.5 mL of thioglycollate media (C. perfringens only) or neutral PBS (all other bacteria). Ten-fold serial dilutions were performed and plated on Shahidi Ferguson Perfringens, MacConkey, M-Enterococcus, and lactobacilli de-Man, Rogosa, and Sharpe agar for C. perfringens, E.coli, Enterococcus, and lactobacilli, respectively, and incubated (24 h at 37°C). All the C. perfringens and lactobacilli culture work was performed in an anaerobic hood. Colonies exhibiting typical colony morphology for each species were counted and recorded.
NE Lesion Scores
To evaluate gross lesions associated with NE, the jejunum and ileum of the small intestine were examined. Lesion scores were recorded using the following criteria (Prescott et al., 1978): 0 = no gross lesions, normal intestinal appearance; 1 = thin-walled or friable, gray appearance; 2 = thin-walled, focal necrosis, gray appearance, small amounts of gas production; 3 = thin-walled, sizable patches of necrosis, gas-filled intestine, small flecks of blood; and 4 = severe extensive necrosis, marked hemorrhage, much gas in intestine.
Statistical Analysis
Mortality among all treatment groups was compared using the
2 test of independence (P
0.05). All mortality data were based on the total number of birds per treatment group for individual experiments; all the other measured parameters were subsets of treatment groups for individual experiments. Bacterial counts (log 10 units) were analyzed with the PROC MIXED procedure in SAS and adjusted for multiple comparisons using the Tukey option. To evaluate the lesion scores in the present investigation, the row mean scores were compared using the Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel test and PROC FREQ. The Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel test showed significant differences (P
0.05), and the data were further analyzed using a nonparametric ANOVA (Kruskal-Wallis) by ranking the scores, applying the mean to ties, and running a PROC GLM on the ranks, allowing the treatment groups to be compared by the mean ranks (SAS Institute, 1996).
| RESULTS AND DISCUSSION |
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There are a myriad of physiological parameters that need to be evaluated to completely understand the interactions of dietary lactose and NE. Dietary lactose has been shown to significantly increase many key attributes in the poultry industry, from increasing eggshell quality to the prevention of pathogenic bacteria causing disease. Furthermore, it has been shown to significantly reduce the effects of C. perfringens in the present investigations. Dietary lactose provides the poultry industry with an alternative that has the potential to promote better animal health and decrease monetary losses due to NE.
Received for publication November 27, 2006. Accepted for publication April 3, 2007.
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