Healthy intestinal bacteria already in chicken eggs

06 Jun 2008

Many scientists have believed that birds acquire the intestinal bacteria that are a necessary for good health from their environment. However, a University of Georgia study finds that chickens are born with those bacteria.

According to lead author Adriana Pedroso, the finding could have important implications for the poultry industry as well as for food safety.
"Understanding the microbial ecology of the developing chicken is the first step toward producing healthy birds without antibiotics," said Pedroso, a post-doctoral researcher in the UGA College of Veterinary Medicine.
The study
Pedroso and her team incubated over 300 eggs and dipped them into a light bleach solution before extracting the embryos using sterile tools. DNA analysis revealed a diverse community of bacteria within the intestines of the developing embryos. The team hypothesize that the bacteria penetrate the surface of the shell to the egg white, which is then ingested by the developing embryo.
Reduce risk of food borne illness
Study co-author John Maurer, professor of avian medicine, said the findings could lead to better methods for promoting growth of poultry and for reducing the risk of food borne illness. He explained that as the poultry industry has moved away from the use of growth promoting antibiotics, it increasingly relies on administering probiotics – beneficial intestinal bacteria – to newly hatched chicks. Establishing a community of healthy bacteria in the birds is thought to make it more difficult for pathogenic bacteria to establish themselves, but studies on the effectiveness of probiotics have shown mixed results. He added that it appears now that the timing of probiotic administration is important.
"Currently, most probiotics are administered after the chicks have hatched," Maurer said. "But our study suggests we might need to administer probiotics in ovo (in the egg) to get better results."
Source: www.worldpoultry.net/news/

Indonesia limits sharing of flu samples

Indonesia is still limiting sharing its bird flu virus sample with the World Health Organization. Bayu Krisnamurthi, Head of the national commission dealing with bird flu, said Indonesia would only send virus samples on a case-by-case basis until a new virus sharing mechanism currently being drawn up by the WHO took effect.

Indonesia is the nation worst hit by H5N1 avian influenza, with 129 human cases and 105 fatalities.

After a 6-month standoff Indonesia sent bird flu virus samples last month to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), after it was given the assurance that it would get access to affordable vaccines.

The health ministry decides whether or not to send samples, Mr. Bayu said.

Last year Indonesia drew international concern when it defied protocol and refused to share its virus samples last year, saying it wanted guarantees from richer nations and drug makers that poor countries would get access to affordable vaccines derived from their samples.

Talks hosted by the WHO last year in Geneva failed to reach an agreement on a new virus-sharing system, and the impasse only seemed to case when Indonesia handed over samples last month.

Mr Krisnamurthi said bird flu had cost Indonesia IDR 4.1 trillion (USD 446.6 million) since 2004 and this excludes the loss of jobs and reduction in protein consumption among the population.

Source : Asian Poultry, May 2008 edition.

FAO: Bird flu situation in Indonesia critical

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has said that the prevalence of avian influenza (AI) in Indonesia remains serious despite containment efforts.

“The human mortality rate from bird flu in Indonesia is the highest in the world an there will be more human cases if we do not focus more on containing the disease at source in animals.” Said FAO Chief Veterinary Officer Joseph Domenech.

“Furthermore, I am deeply concerned that the high level of virus circulation in birds in the country could create conditions for the virus to mutate and to finally cause a human influenza pandemic,” Mr Domenech warned.

AI has become deeply entrenched in Indonesia with 31 out of 33 provinces being infected. The virus is endemic in Java, Sumatra, Bali and southern Sulawesi with sporadic outbreaks reported from other areas.

Since the first outbreaks in 2003 avian influenza has spread rapidly across Java into Bali, Kalimantan and Sumatra. In 2006 the virus spread further east infecting Papua and much of Sulawesi.

About 20% of the chicken population of 1.4 billion is scattered in around 30 millions backyards, where people raise poultry for food or income. Despite major control efforts, the country has not succeeded in containing the spread of avian influenza in poultry, Mr Domenech said.

“Major human and financial resources, stronger political commitment and strengthened coordination between the central, province and district authorities are required to improve surveillance and control measures.”

Major constraints

A highly decentralized administration, under-resourced national veterinary services, lack of engagement with commercial poultry procedures, insufficient international and national financial and human resources for control campaigns and the challenges of implementing a comprehensive communication strategy are the major constraints the country is facing, he noted.

“We have also observed that new H5N1 avian influenza virus strains have recently emerged creating the possibility that vaccines currently in use may not be fully protecting poultry against the disease. This issue is being addresses by the Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture with technical assistance from OFFLU (OIE/FAO Influenza Network of Laboratories) and funding provided by USAID and AusAID. Also required are more investigations and the development of better poultry vaccines,” he added.

“The major challenge is to immediately apply the main components of a successful national avian influenza control strategy, based on effective surveillance, emergency culling and compensation, vaccination, improved biosecurity, effective laboratory and quarantine procedures, and movement controls of poultry and poultry products.”

FAO is supporting the Indonesian authorities in most of these areas. In addition, the agency has helped to train local teams of animal health professionals in participatory disease surveillance and response (PDS/R).

So far, more than 1,350 local government PDS/R officers have been trained and are actively working with village communities to prevent and control avian influenza. Surveillance and response teams are currently working in 193 out of 448 districts in Indonesia. By June 2008, over 2000 surveillance and response teams will be active in more than 300 districts in disease-endemic areas of the country.

Major donors, such as USAID, AusAID, Japan and the Netherlands, together with FAO, have so far invested more than USD 25 million in supporting national control efforts.

Source : Asian Poultry, May 2008 edition.