“A fast-growing chicken disease with multifactorial causes”
Clinical expressions of a strain E. of the blind pathogen are well described in chickens, with symptoms that evolve according to age.
Chronological evolution of E.cecorum pathology“/>
In the chick, this begins in the first week with a drop in food consumption and dehydration – hence an increase in the heterogeneity of the flock – then with difficulty walking in the increasingly numerous patients.
At autopsy, the skeleton is affected at specific points of the spine as well as at the joints of the legs (necrotic femoral head), but not only that. Other organs are affected: the heart (pericarditis), the liver (perihepatitis, enlargement), the spleen (enlargement), the brain.
Claudio Chimienti is a veterinarian in Côtes d’Armor“/> Claudio Chimienti is a veterinarian in Côtes d’Armor © P. Le Douarin
The chicken made genetically bulimic is capable of laying down muscle, but its digestion capacity does not match its appetite. Just like its ability to certainly form a skeleton strong enough to support its mass.
The most likely hypothesis for the triggering of the process is the accumulation of food material in the chick’s digestive tract and the presence ofE. of the blind ingested in the immediate environment. « E. of the blind represents only 3% of germs found at start-up in our Cristal network in 2022, but it is 47% in locomotor pathology, far ahead E. coli O78 (21%) and S. Aureus (12 %) », underlines the veterinarian.
How E. cecorum passes from the intestine to the deep organs of the chicken“/> How E. cecorum passes from the intestine to the deep organs of the chicken © Source: Cristal Network
Food engorgement allows certain strains toE. of the blind to proliferate and cause digestive disorder with inflammation of the intestinal wall.
Weakened, the cells of the intestine allow the germ to pass into the bloodstream. This phenomenon of « translocation » takes place after one to two weeks of life.
The chick being very resistant to the presence of germs in the blood, the bacteria will spread throughout the organs. Bones are a preferred target, in particular very highly vascularized areas of cell multiplication and those subject to strong mechanical stress. The bacteria makes its nest there and causes the lesions.
Florence Tardy is head of the Mycoplasmology-bacteriology-antibiotic resistance unit at the Anses laboratory in Ploufragan-Plouzané-Niort“/>
“For the moment, it is difficult to distinguish carrier strains from those that are pathogenicsummarized Florence Tardy, scientist at Anses, during the experience sharing organized by Innozh. We do find virulence genes, but they are not specific to pathogenic strains. We also cannot identify pathogenic groups. Our only certainty is that these strains are genetically less diverse and have fewer genes. »
Same opinion from Claudio Chimienti: “We do not find any correlations of pathogenic strains with breeding, ages, lesions or diffusion. And current techniques do not make it possible to differentiate a pathogenic strain from a commensal one. »
Reduce the risk of triggering
In the absence of sufficiently early diagnosis methods and legal preventive antibiotic treatment, breeders are banking on mitigating risk factors at three levels.
To begin with, it is a question of reducing the presence of the bacteria on the breeding site. General biosecurity measures, strengthening of cleaning-disinfection procedures, monitoring of water quality are all levers to be combined to avoid the persistence ofE. of the blind and its passage on chicks.
The second level of intervention concerns everything that can make it possible toavoid digestive imbalance and the passage of bacteria into the blood. Which involves improving the assimilation and quality of the food (digestibility, minerals, vitamins, nutritional additives), protecting the intestine by acting in particular on the digestive flora (probiotics, anticoccidials, acidification of water) , and to provide maximum comfort to the chick (minimize cold and heat shocks, adjust the equipment).
The third prevention lever focuses on the skeleton in limiting bone weakening who make the bedE. of the blind. The early practice of 8 continuous daily hours of light extinction facilitates food regulation and mineral assimilation.
The weight at 10 days is important to follow, according to veterinarian Claudio Chimienti. Above the desirable level, the chick may already be in an unfavorable health situation. Below, the breeder may be tempted to stimulate food consumption, which risks increasing the risks.
Added to this are mineral supplements (calcium and phosphorus) meeting needs and boosts of available organic vitamin D3 which will stimulate the use of minerals by the body.
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