Bacteriophage mediated control of necrotic enteritis caused by C. perfringens in broiler chickens

Necrotic enteritis in broiler chickens: bacteriophages

In Egypt, the problem of necrotic enteritis in broiler chickens has often been overlooked.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential efficacy of C. perfringens phage in the treatment of this disease at the farm level.

Through careful isolation and characterization, the researchers were able to isolate a potent podovirus phage. In experiments with commercial broiler chickens, treatment with this phage was found to effectively reduce symptoms of necrotic enteritis.

These results demonstrate the importance of further research into phage therapy as a solution for the treatment of disease in poultry. Further research and application could potentially revolutionize the way necrotic enteritis and other bacterial diseases are treated in poultry production.

---

The authors Reham A Hosny, Ahmed F Gaber, and Hend K Sorour published their findings in the article Bacteriophage mediated control of necrotic enteritis caused by C. perfringens in broiler chickens, dated 13 September 2021.

Topics include:

• In Egypt, little attention has been paid to the isolation and use of C. perfringens phage for the treatment of necrotic enteritis in farms.
• The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of podovirus C. perfringens phage in the treatment of necrotic enteritis in broiler chickens by administering six doses on different occasions after oral administration of C. perfringens
• The results showed that the isolated C. perfringens phage effectively treated the experimental necrotic enteritis in broiler chickens and showed mild gross lesions with a lower mortality rate than the positive control group

Abstract

In Egypt, little attention has been paid to the isolation and application of C. perfringens phages for treating necrotic enteritis at the farm level.

This study aims to evaluate the efficiency of the podovirus C. perfringens phage in treating necrotic enteritis in broiler chickens.

Accordingly, C. perfringens phage was isolated from cecal samples of apparently healthy chickens and characterized by transmission electron microscopy, thermal stability test, and pH stability test. Commercial 14-day-old Arbor Acres broiler chickens were allocated to three groups:

• group Ӏ received BHI broth and assigned as a negative control,
• group П served as a positive control group that was challenged with C. perfringens via oral gavage for four successive days, and
• group Ш was administrated six phage doses on several occasions after oral gavage challenge with C. perfringens.

Daily clinical symptoms and mortality were recorded.

At three-time intervals, necrotic enteritis lesions were scored. Cecal samples were examined for re-isolation and counting of C. perfringens. The isolated C. perfringens phage was a podovirus with an icosahedral head diameter of 78.7 nm and a short non-contractile tail length of 22.2 nm. It remained stable for 60 min at 30 °C and 50 °C at pH values of 2, 4, 8, and 10. The phage-treated group (Ш) showed mild gross lesions with a lower mortality rate and reduced colony-forming units than the positive control group (П).

The findings revealed that the isolated C. perfringens phage effectively treated experimental necrotic enteritis in broiler chickens.

Keywords: Broilers; C. perfringens; Necrotic enteritis; Phage; Treatment.

© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.