NE toxoid benefits antibiotic-free and conventional broiler flocks

Clostridium perfringens type A toxoid, the world’s first poultry vaccine for managing necrotic enteritis, is expected to benefit all types of poultry operations, but the most visible improvement will be in systems that have eliminated or reduced in-feed antibiotics, says Charlie Broussard, DVM, director of poultry technical services for Schering-Plough Animal Health.

In field trials with antibiotic-free broilers, use of the Clostridium perfringens type A toxoid in broiler breeder hens significantly reduced the incidence of necrotic enteritis in their chicks, he says.

When a large U.S. poultry company used Clostridium perfringens type A toxoid in breeders and conventional anticoccidial drugs in the feed for chicks, birds showed significantly better livability, feed conversion, calorie conversion, adjusted calorie conversion and standard cost compared to controls from hens that did not receive the NE toxoid, which is currently being used in the United States under a conditional license, he says.

No NE after vaccination

At another operation in Canada, commercial flocks had experienced necrotic enteritis outbreaks despite receiving an ionophore anticoccidial and antibiotic growth promoter in the feed. However, there was no evidence of necrotic enteritis after hens were vaccinated with the NE toxoid and their chicks received Coccivac-B live coccidiosis vaccine and a reduced level of BMD, an antibiotic growth promoter. After this trial, the company proceeded with completely removing the antibiotic growth promoter from the feed, and the first two antibiotic-free flocks did not experience any problems due to necrotic enteritis.
In fact, necrotic enteritis did not occur despite heat stress and a wheat-based diet, which can make birds more susceptible to necrotic enteritis. According to researchers involved with the trial, there was no loss in performance and the growth rate was improved, Broussard says.

Floor pen trials also indicate that Clostridium perfringens type A toxoid may allow producers to reduce the dose rates of the antibiotic bacitracin methylene disalicylate (BMD) from 50 to 25 mg/ton of feed, without compromising performance, he says.

Six ways to use Clostridium perfringens type A toxoid

Your current program	Recommended program	Benefits
Organic	Clostridium perfringens type A toxoid + Coccivac-B	Improved control of necrotic enteritis and coccidiosis Lifetime coccidiosis protection Better livability Maintain organic status
Drug-free	Clostridium perfringens type A toxoid + Coccivac-B	Improved control of necrotic enteritis Lifetime coccidiosis protection Better livability Maintain drug-free status
Ionophore only	Clostridium perfringens type A toxoid + Ionophore	Improved enteritis protection without increasing drug usage Better livability Better weight gain Better FCR Lower cost
Antibiotic only	Clostridium perfringens type A toxoid + Coccivac-B + ½ dose BMD	Reduced antibiotic usage without compromising enteritis control Lifetime coccidiosis protection Lower medication cost Better livability Better weight gain
Ionophore + antibiotic	Ionophore + Clostridium perfringens type A toxoid + ½ dose BMD	Reduced antibiotic usage without compromising enteritis control Better livability Better weight gain

FCR = Feed conversion ratio.
Coccivac is a registered trademark of Schering-Plough Animal Health Corporation.

BMD is a registered trademark of Alpharma Inc.

Read the latest information on the NE vaccine, as presented at the XXIII World’s Poultry Congress (500K PDF)
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