Towards the control of necrotic enteritis in broiler chickens with in-feed antibiotics phasing-out worldwide

TLDR

Poultry production has surged since 1970, yet the global phasing out of in‑feed antibiotics has caused the re‑emergence of diseases such as necrotic enteritis, which costs the industry over $2 billion annually and now has a clearer etiology with the NetB toxin. The study reviews advances in NE etiology and evaluates dietary, probiotic, short‑chain fatty acid, and vaccine strategies as alternatives to in‑feed antibiotics. The review synthesizes recent toxin‑characterization findings and examines how dietary modifications, pre‑biotics, short‑chain fatty acids, and vaccination can control NE. The authors conclude that combining pre‑biotics, organic acids, and vaccination offers the most promising protection against NE and improves gut health in the absence of antibiotics.

Abstract

Poultry production has undergone a substantial increase compared to the livestock industries since 1970. However, the industry worldwide is now facing challenges with the removal of in-feed antibiotics completely or gradually, as the once well-controlled poultry diseases have re-emerged to cause tremendous loss of production. Necrotic enteritis (NE) is one of the most important diseases which costs the industry over two billion dollars annually. In this paper, we review the progress on the etiology of NE and its control through dietary modifications, pre- and probiotics, short chain fatty acids, and vaccination. The other likely measures resulted in the most advances in the toxin characterization are also discussed. Vaccine strategies may have greater potential for the control of NE mainly due to clearer etiology of NE having been elucidated in recent years with the identification of necrotic enteritis toxin B-like (NetB) toxin. Therefore, the use of alternatives to in-feed antibiotics with a better understanding of the relationship between nutrition and NE, and limiting exposure to infectious agents through biosecurity and vaccination, might be a tool to reduce the incidence of NE and to improve gut health in the absence of in-feed antibiotics. More importantly, the combinations of different measures may achieve greater protection of birds against the disease. Among all the alternatives investigated, prebiotics, organic acids and vaccination have shown improved gastrointestinal health and thus, have potential for the control of NE.