Effect of serial culture of cecal feces on the prevention of infection induced by Salmonella enterica serovar Heidelberg in broilers

• Grant number: 22/16513-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: March 01, 2023
• End date: September 30, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Animal Pathology
• Principal Investigator: Angelo Berchieri Junior
• Grantee: Isis Mari Miyashiro Kolososki
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias (FCAV). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Jaboticabal. Jaboticabal , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Brazil stands out in the production of broilers, ranking third in world production andfourth in consumption. However, even with high technical production, Brazilian productionstill faces obstacles to its growth, among which we highlight infectious and contagiousdiseases, such as salmonellosis. Among these, infections caused by Salmonella Heidelbergemerge with great importance with cases of difficult identification in chickens and greatzoonotic potential. To prevent infection of broilers, the use of antimicrobials as feed additiveshas been adopted, despite its prohibition, due to the risk of the appearance of resistant strains.Given this reality, alternatives to the use of these drugs have been studied, as is the case ofcompetitive exclusion, which is based on the use of natural symbiont bacteria from themicrobiota of healthy poultry that has the potential to inhibit the growth of pathogenic strains.Thus, the present proposal aims to analyze the potential to combat Salmonella Heidelbergcolonization by competitive exclusion of fecal stool dilutions from experimentally infectedhealthy birds. To this end, 12 stool dilutions (one dilution every 24 h under aerobic conditionsand every 48 h under anaerobic conditions) will be performed in LB nutrient broth. Finally,the broths with the most appropriate concentration obtained in the pilot trial will beinoculated into day-old chicks orally. It is hoped to support the hypothesis that fecal stooldilutions have the potential to control S. Heidelberg infection.