Necrotic Enteritis

Introduction
An acute or chronic enterotoxemia seen in chickens, turkeys and ducks worldwide, caused by Clostridium perfringens and characterised by a fibrino-necrotic enteritis, usually of the mid- small intestine. Mortality may be 5-50%, usually around 10%. Infection occurs by faecal-oral transmission. Spores of the causative organism are highly resistant. Predisposing factors include coccidiosis/coccidiasis, diet (high protein), in ducks possibly heavy strains, high viscosity diets (often associated with high rye and wheat inclusions in the diet), contaminated feed and/or water, other debilitating diseases.

The disease necrotic enteritis was first described in chickens in England in 1961 and since that time has been reported in the majority of countries around the world. Necrotic enteritis has been identified in broilers, laying hens, turkeys and quail. Necrotic enteritis has been estimated to affect up to 40% of the commercial broiler flocks and is believed to cost the industry about 5¢ per broiler in the United States (McDevitt et al, 2006).

Symptoms
Necrotic enteritis is commonly seen in 2-to 5-week old broiler chickens raised on litter and in 7-to 12-week-old turkeys. At times, the only symptom the clinical (severe) disease is the rapid and unexplained death of the bird. When symptoms such as severe depression, decreased appetite, dark colored diarrhea, closed eyes or ruffled feathers appear they are often short-lived because birds die rapidly. Dead birds appear dehydrated and seem to rot very quickly from the inside out.

Necrotic enteritis is commonly seen in 2-to 5-week old broiler chickens raised on litter and in 7-to 12-week-old turkeys. At times, the only symptom the clinical (severe) disease is the rapid and unexplained death of the bird. When symptoms such as severe depression, decreased appetite, dark colored diarrhea, closed eyes or ruffled feathers appear they are often short-lived because birds die rapidly. Dead birds appear dehydrated and seem to rot very quickly from the inside out.

Signs
Depression.
Ruffled feathers.
Inappetance.
Closed eyes.
Immobility.
Dark coloured diarrhoea.
Sudden death in good condition (ducks).
Post-mortem lesions
Small intestine (usually middle to distal) thickened and distended.
Intestinal mucosa with diptheritic membrane.
Intestinal contents may be dark brown with necrotic material.
Reflux of bile-stained liquid in the crop if upper small intestine affected.
Affected birds tend to be dehydrated and to undergo rapid putrefaction.

Diagnosis
A presumptive diagnosis may be made based on flock history and gross lesions Confirmation is on the observation of abundant rods in smears from affected tissues and a good response to specific medication, usually in less than 48 hours.

Treatment
Penicillins (e.g. phenoxymethyl penicillin, amoxycillin), in drinking water, or Bacitracin in feed (e.g. 100 ppm). Treatment of ducks is not very successful, neomycin and erythromycin are used in the USA. Water medication for 3-5 days and in-feed medication for 5-7 days depending on the severity.

Prevention
Penicillin in feed is preventive, high levels of most growth promotors and normal levels of ionophore anticoccidials also help. Probiotics may limit multiplication of bacteria and toxin production. In many countries local regulations or market conditions prevent the routine use of many of these options.

http://www.thepoultrysite.com/diseaseinfo/101/necrotic-enteritis
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/articles/846/necrotic-enteritis

Necrotic Enteritis: Introduction

Necrotic enteritis is an acute enterotoxemia. The clinical illness is usually very short and often the only signs are a sudden increase in mortality. The disease primarily affects broiler chickens (2-5 wk old) and turkeys (7-12 wk old) raised on litter but can also affect commercial layer pullets raised in cages.

Etiology and Pathogenesis:
The causative agent is the gram-positive, obligate, anaerobic bacteria Clostridium perfringens . It is usually isolated on blood agar, incubated anaerobically at 37°C, on which it produces a double zone of hemolysis. There are 2 primary C perfringens types, A and C, associated with necrotic enteritis in poultry. Toxins produced by the bacteria cause damage to the small intestine, liver lesions, and mortality.

C perfringens is a nearly ubiquitous bacteria readily found in soil, dust, feces, feed, and used poultry litter. It is also a normal inhabitant of the intestines of healthy chickens. The enterotoxemia that results in clinical disease most often occurs either following an alteration in the intestinal microflora or from a condition that results in damage to the intestinal mucosa (eg, coccidiosis, mycotoxicosis, salmonellosis, ascarid larvae). High dietary levels of animal byproducts (eg, fishmeal), wheat, barley, oats, or rye predispose birds to the disease. Anything that promotes excessive bacterial growth and toxin production or slows feed passage rate in the small intestine could promote the occurrence of necrotic enteritis.

Clinical Findings and Lesions:
Most often the only sign of necrotic enteritis in a flock is a sudden increase in mortality. However, birds with depression, ruffled feathers, and diarrhea may also be seen. The gross lesions are primarily found in the small intestine (jejunum), which may be ballooned, friable, and contain a foul-smelling, brown fluid. The mucosa is usually covered with a tan to yellow pseudomembrane often referred to as a “Turkish towel” in appearance. This pseudomembrane may extend throughout the small intestine or be only in a localized area. The disease persists in a flock for 5-10 days, and mortality is 2-50%.

Diagnosis:
A presumptive diagnosis is based on gross lesions and a gram-stained smear of a mucosal scraping that exhibits large, gram-positive rods. Histologic findings consist of coagulative necrosis of one-third to one-half the thickness of the intestinal mucosa and masses of short, thick bacterial rods in the fibrinonecrotic debris. Isolation of large numbers of C perfringens , from intestinal contents that produce the double zone of hemolysis as described above, can confirm the diagnosis. Double zone hemolysis should not be used as the sole criteria for identification of C perfringens because some strains do not produce both toxins responsible for the hemolysis characteristics. Differential media specifically designed for isolation of C perfringens is available and may be useful for diagnosis.

Necrotic enteritis must be differentiated from lesions produced by Eimeria brunetti and also from ulcerative enteritis. Uncomplicated coccidiosis rarely produces lesions as acute or severe as those seen with necrotic enteritis. Ulcerative enteritis caused by C colinum usually produces focal lesions from the distal portion of the small intestine (ileum) to the ceca and is almost always accompanied by hepatic necrosis.

Prevention, Control, and Treatment:
Because C perfringens is nearly ubiquitous, it is important to prevent changes in the intestinal microflora that would promote its growth. This can be accomplished by adding antibiotics in the feed such as virginiamycin (20 g/ton feed), bacitracin (50 g/ton feed), and lincomycin (2 g/ton feed). The addition of anticoccidial compounds, especially of the ionophore class, has been extremely helpful in preventing the coccidial damage that leads to necrotic enteritis. Avoiding drastic changes in feed and minimizing the level of fishmeal, wheat, barley, or rye in the diet can also aid in the prevention of necrotic enteritis. Administration of probiotics or competitive exclusion cultures has been used to both prevent and treat clinical necrotic enteritis (presumably by preventing the proliferation of C perfringens ). Treatment for necrotic enteritis is most commonly administered in the drinking water, with bacitracin (200-400 mg/gal. for 5-7 days), penicillin (1,500,000 u/gal. for 5 days), and lincomycin (64 mg/gal. for 7 days) most often used. In each case, the medicated drinking water should be the sole source of water. Moribund birds should be removed promptly, as they can serve as a source of toxicosis or infection due to cannibalism.

http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/201200.htm



Ranking of top 15 Broiler producers in The United States, updated May 16, 2007.

The ranking is based on average PRODUCTION in MILLIONS of pounds of ready to cook chicken PER WEEK.


1. Pilgrim's Pride Corporation - 181.94 Million lbs./week
2. Tyson Foods, Inc. - 151.86
3. Perdue Farms, Inc - 56.16
4. Wayne Farms, LLC - 34.90
5. Sanderson Farms, Inc. - 34.65
6. Mountaire Farms - 27.64
7. House of Raeford Farms, Inc. - 20.60
8. Keystone Foods, LLC - 19.44
9. Koch Foods, Inc. - 18.60
10. Foster Farms - 17.00
11. O.K. Foods, Inc. - 16.20
12. Peco Foods, Inc. - 15.46
13. George's Inc. 14.55
14. Fieldale Farms Corporation - 14.34
15. Townsends, Inc. - 12.40

http://www.wattpoultry.com/PoultryUSA/Article.aspx?id=10098

http://www.dpichicken.org/download/Top%20Broiler%20Producing%20Companies%202006.doc.


Total WEEKLY slaughter of birds at an average weight of 2 kilograms (4.4 lbs.) is 153,577,272 birds per week.

150 million birds per week x 5 cents per bird (average losses to N.E.) is $7.5 million dollars per week.

The cost to raise one broiler on Agrastim is approximately 2.5 cents for treatment of 14 lbs of feed. (Average broiler feed consumed).

The SAVINGS to the top 15 broiler producers in the United States would be $3.75 Million per week.



Vyta Corp and Justin Holdings Jointly Announce the Completion of a Successful University Study of BioAgra's Product Agrastim(R) for Replacement of Antibiotics in Poultry Feed

Tuesday August 7, 9:00 am ET

DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Vyta Corp (OTCBB: VYTC - News) and Justin Holdings, Inc., equal owners of their joint venture, BioAgra, LLC, today announced the completion of a successful university study of its product Agrastim®, a purified yeast beta-1,3/1,6-D glucan product with an 80% or greater biological activity.

This study was conducted at the University of Georgia, Athens, GA, in collaboration with the Southern Poultry Research Institute under the direction of Dr. Charles Hofacre and Mr. Greg Mathis, Ph.D., President of Southern Poultry Research Institute. Dr. Hofacre is considered the foremost authority on necrotic enteritis by the poultry industry and the scientific community. The study was designed to demonstrate that Agrastim® can safely and effectively replace antibiotics in the feed of broilers when challenged by Clostridium perfringens, the agent that causes necrotic enteritis.

Necrotic enteritis is a disease that causes significant losses in the broiler industry. Once the disease is identified, the flock is usually treated with antibiotics, to reduce mortality and economic loss. Since the marketplace now is demanding antibiotic-free chickens, it has become necessary for the poultry industry to find new non-antibiotic means to prevent and/or limit the occurrence of necrotic enteritis and other diseases.

This study supports BioAgra's claim that Agrastim® is able to safely and economically replace antibiotics in poultry feeds even in the presence of infectious agents. BioAgra expects that under conditions in which subclinical infections are present, Agrastim® may perform even better than antibiotics. Agrastim® can be used in the feed stock of all living organisms and directly activates both the innate and adaptive immune systems.

About Vyta Corp:

Vyta Corp of Denver, Colorado, is traded on the over-the-counter NASDAQ stock market (OTCBB: VYTC - News) as well as on the Frankfurt, Hamburg, XETRA and Munich Exchanges (OTC: VYTA - News).

Vyta Corp owns a 50% interest in BioAgra, LLC, a joint venture to manufacture and sell Agrastim®, a purified yeast beta-1,3/1,6-D glucan product with a high bioactivity level of 80% or greater.

In addition to the 12 patents it owns, Vyta Corp has applications pending and various intellectual properties related to NCS(TM) (NanoPierce Connection System). This advanced system is designed to provide significant improvement over conventional electrical and mechanical interconnection methods for high density circuit boards, components, sockets, connectors, semiconductor packaging and electronic systems. It also owns a 49% interest in ExypnoTech GmbH, a Germany-based manufacturer of smart inlays which are used in RFID identification devices such as smart labels, smart tags and smart cards. For more information on Vyta Corp and its business partners, please visit the websites: http://www.vytacorp.com or http://www.exypnotech.com.

About BioAgra, LLC:

BioAgra, LLC is based in Hinesville, Georgia where it produces, markets and sells Agrastim®, which is a purified yeast beta-1,3/1,6-D glucan product with a high bioactivity function that improves the immune systems of animals and humans. Agrastim® is an all-natural, organic, non-toxic natural beta glucan feed supplement derived from spent brewer's and distillery yeast. It is also used to replace fast growth promotion antibiotics that are currently used in the feed of the livestock, swine, poultry, turkey, dairy, equine, aqua-culture and other industries. For more information on BioAgra, LLC, please visit its website at: http://www.bioagra.net.

This announcement contains forward-looking statements about Vyta Corp that may involve risks and uncertainties. Important factors relating to the Company's operations could cause results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements and further detailed in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) available at the SEC website (http://www.sec.gov). All forward-looking statements are based on information available to Vyta Corp on the date hereof and Vyta Corp assumes no obligation to update such statements.


Contact:

Vyta Corp Paul H. Metzinger, 303-592-1010 President & Chief Executive Officer Fax: 303-592-1054 paul@nanopierce.com or BioAgra, LLC Neal Bartoletta, 912-368-2870 President Fax: 912-638-2874 BioAgra@aol.com

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Source: Vyta Corp

http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/070807/20070807005078.html?.v=1

Effect of adding Agrastim® supplement on necrotic enteritis in broilers. To define the effect of Agrastim® on necrotic enteritis, on Day 14 all birds were inoculated orally with a mixed coccidial inoculum containing approximately 25,000 oocysts of E. acervulina and 5,000 oocysts of E. maxima per bird; on day 19 and 20 birds in the experimental group were given a broth culture of C. perfringens 1 x 108 cfu/ml. Birds were given feed and water ad libidum throughout the trial.

A summary of the results (Table 1) shows that the chicks fed the feed containing Agrastim® performed as well as those fed an antibiotic. There is no significant statistical difference between antibiotic-treated and Agrastim®-fed chickens in relation to weight gain or feed conversion over the 28 day of the study. However the chickens fed Agrastim® at 40 grams/ton throughout the trial shows a significant lower lesion score, indicating that these animals resisted invasion of the gut by C. perfringens better than those fed the feed supplemented with antibiotics.