Poultry is a major reservoir of the bacteria Campylobacter jejuni (C.
jejuni), and poultry products and eggs have been shown to be important
vehicles of human infection
Prevention of C. jejuni Colonization
Poultry is a major reservoir of the bacteria Campylobacter jejuni (C. jejuni), and poultry products and eggs have been shown to be important vehicles of human infection. It is estimated that 75 per cent of poultry products that reach consumers contain C. jejuni.
Therefore, reduction or elimination of C. jejuni contamination in poultry will greatly decrease the risk for public health. Various antibiotics are currently used to reduce intestinal carriage of C. jejuni by food producing animals. However, due to the potential increase of antibiotic resistant strains, alternative approaches are being investigated.
One such approach is the use of a type of sugar called ß-1-4 Mannobiose (MNB) derived from copra meals. In previous studies, Dr. Yoshinori Mine and his research team at the University of Guelph have found that inclusion of MNB in the diet of broiler chicks reduced susceptibility to Salmonella enteritidis colonization during infection. In the current project, Dr. Mine investigated the effects on MNB on C. jejuni colonization.
MNB was added to broiler diets at a rate of 0 per cent, 0.1 per cent or 0.5 per cent. At seven days of age, chicks were infected with C. jejuni. Chicks were fed started diet to day 27 and grower diet from day 28 to day 33. Beginning on day 34, the MNB diets were fed to groups of birds. Six birds in each pen were sacrificed on Days 36, 38 and 41 to assess cecal contents for C. jejuni load.
Their findings? One day after the MNB feeding test started there was a significant decrease in shedding of C. jejuni lower compared to control. After three days of feeding MNB, this effect became more obvious and a marked decrease in shedding was observed throughout the remainder of the trial (seven days). It is concluded that MNB is very efficient at decreasing C. jejuni colonization in the chicken gut. Furthermore, no adverse effects were observed, such as weight loss or mortality. The researcher says that an Ontario-based poultry company is conducting extensive field trials and results are very good.
Featured Researcher
Dr. Mine received a M.Sc. degree in 1987 from Faculty of Agricultural Science (Food Science), Shinshu University, Japan and a PhD degree in Biochemistry from Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Tokyo, Japan, in 1993. He joined the University of Guelph in 1996 as a faculty member at Department of Food Science. Currently, he is professor. He is a recipient of PREA (The Premier’s Research Excellence Award) in 2000 and American Egg Board Research award in 2005. Dr. Mine is a renowned Egg Material Scientist at University of Guelph, Ont.
Dr. Mine’s primary research interest is molecular approaches to the study of structure-function relationships of egg and milk derived bio-active proteins/peptides and egg allergy, to enhance human intestinal health. He is also exploring the use of egg yolk antibody as therapeutics in enteric infectious disease. The egg is the largest biological cell known which originates from one cell division and is composed of various important chemical substances that form the basis of life. Therefore, the avian egg is considered to be a store house of nutrients such as proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, enzymes and various biologically active substances including growth promoting factors and defences against bacterial and viral invasion.
Milk is also recognized as containing an array of bio-activities that dramatically extended the range of influenced of mother over young beyond simple nutrition. His group is characterizing the biophysiological functions of egg and milk components and seeking novel biologically active substances. Egg and milk proteins have numerous potential for releasing biologically functional peptides due to degradation by pepsin, trypsin or chymotrypsin in the gut. His group is studying two major functions of immunomodulators, which enhance our immune system through mimicking peptides and mucosal defensin-like peptides, which inhibit adhesion of foodborne pathogens (salmonella and E. coli) to intestinal epithelial cells and their mechanism at a molecular level. Food allergy is a major human health concern. His lab is working on the fine mapping of allergenic epitopes of ovomucoid and ovalbumin, dominant allergens of egg white and structure-function studies of allergenic epitopes using site-directed mutagenesis for engineering food allergens to reduce their allergenicity. He is also interested in engineering of food allergens. His research group is also studying a mechanism of intestinal transportation of food allergens across epithelial cells and examining effective anti-allergenic agents from natural foods to prevent such allergic reactions. They are also working on the molecular design of recombinant chimerical epitopes of human rotavirus to induce a specific antibody as vaccine candidates and also passive immunity using hen’s egg yolk antibody.
He has published three books, 20 book chapters, 13 review articles, 115 original papers to the peer-reviewed international journals and holds one patent. His most recently released book is Egg Bioscience and Biotechnology (from Wiley) in 2008.
Last call for Poultry Worker Award Nominations
It’s not too late to throw in an entry for this prestigious award, but you’ll need to be quick. We need your nominations before September 16.
Seen something innovative lately? Invented a useful gadget?
Don’t be shy, tell us about it and if it’s any good (saves time and money for producers), we’ll feature it at the November conference. Don’t hold back!
Conferences and Meetings
Don’t forget to mark Nov. 10 and 11 for the Inaugural Poultry Innovation Conference at Bingemans in Kitchener, Ont. In the East? Unable to make it to Kitchener? Don’t forget the 2008 Eastern Ontario Poultry Conference on Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2008 at the St-Isidore Recreation Centre in St-Isidore, Ont.
This bilingual conference will have presentations projected on-screen and conference kits in both languages and will feature an array of topical speakers. Covering everything from poultry nutrition, barn design and tax management, this conference has something for everyone. See our website for details.
Further South? The Pennsylvania Poultry Sales & Service Conference and 80th Northeastern Conference on Avian Diseases will be held Sept. 16-17, 2008, in State College, Pa. The program and registration information is available on our website.
Annual Meeting
The PIC’s annual meeting will be held on Oct. 7 at the Victoria East Golf Club in Guelph, Ont., from 9:30 a.m. to 12 noon. The PIC will provide lunch following the meeting.
Help us fill the gaps in the Research and Education Strategy. What’s new? What’s bugging you? What issues will our industry confront in future and how will we tackle them? Find out where your research money is being spent, how it’s taking us forward and what happens to research results.
For more details on any of the items in the PIC Update, please contact the PIC at 519-837-0284 or email us at pic@poultryindustrycouncil.ca
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