Abstract
Two independent trials were carried out to evaluate the effect of feed form, whole wheat (WW) and oat hulls (OH) addition on gastrointestinal (GIT) weight and Campylobacter jejuni colonization in orally infected birds. In Trial 1, there were six treatments factorially arranged with two feed forms (mash vs pellets), and three levels of WW from 1-21/22-42d: 0/0, 7.5/15%, 15/30%. Broilers were allocated in cages (3 birds/cage, 12 cages/treatment). In Trial 2, there were three treatments: a mash diet, a mash diet including WW (7.5% from 1–21 and 15% from 22-42d), and a third treatment including also 5%OH. Broilers were allocated in floor pens (1 pen with 30 birds/treatment). At 14d, all broilers in Trial 1 or 3 broilers/pen in Trial 2 were orally challenged with 1.5 x 105 cfu of C. jejuni ST-45 /. In Trial 1, birds fed pelleted diets consumed 13.5% more feed, gained 31% more weight, and presented 12.9% better feed conversion for the whole trial (P<0.05). Pelleting decreased the relative weight of GIT and gizzard and increased the relative weight of proventriculus (P<0.05). Mash diets decreased pH in the gizzard (P<0.05). Inclusion of WW decreased the relative weight of proventriculus, increased gizzard weight, and reduced pH in the gizzard (P<0.05). At 21d of age, mash tended to reduce C. jejuni compared to pellets (7.85 vs 8.27 log10cfu/g; P = 0.091) and WW inclusion at 7.5/15% reduced C. jejuni colonization when compared to lower and higher inclusion (P<0.05). In Trial 2, birds fed T3 (WW+OH) showed 1.38 log10cfu/g less than birds fed Control diet (P<0.05). In conclusion, despite of the clear morphological changes in the GIT derived of FF and WW inclusion, no clear reductions in C. jejuni populations in the ceca were observed. However, WW and OH inclusion to mash diets significantly reduced cecal C. jejuni colonization at 42 days.
Highlights
Campylobacter is the leading cause of bacterial gastroenteritis in humans worldwide
Selectivity on the consumption was not measured, but no refusal of whole wheat was observed, and feeds with Whole wheat (WW) were consumed in the same proportion than feed, as no differences between original feed with WW and feeder refusals were observed at 21, 35 and 42 days
oat hulls (OH) were included into mash or pelleted feeds
Summary
Campylobacter is the leading cause of bacterial gastroenteritis in humans worldwide. In the EU, it is the most commonly reported gastrointestinal bacterial pathogen since 2005, with 236,851 human cases reported in 2014 [1].Campylobacter spreads rapidly within broiler flocks through horizontal transmission so that the prevalence within the flock may increase from 95% in a week [2,3,4]. Campylobacter is the leading cause of bacterial gastroenteritis in humans worldwide. In the EU, it is the most commonly reported gastrointestinal bacterial pathogen since 2005, with 236,851 human cases reported in 2014 [1]. Campylobacter spreads rapidly within broiler flocks through horizontal transmission so that the prevalence within the flock may increase from 95% in a week [2,3,4]. The principal site of colonization is the lower gastrointestinal tract (GIT), especially in the ceca [5,6,7,8]. Positive broiler flocks can cause carcass contamination [9], that may serve as a source for cross-contamination to other foodstuffs and surfaces during meal preparation in the consumer's kitchen [10,11]. Implementation of Campylobacter control measures at the primary production level is needed to reach a reduction of human campylobacteriosis
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