Submit to Vaccines Review for Vaccines Propose a Special Issue

Journal Browser

► Journal Browser

Veterinary and Alternative Strategies to Control Avian Coccidiosis and Necrotic Enteritis

Print Special Issue Flyer
Special Issue Editors
Special Issue Information
Keywords
Published Papers

A special issue of Vaccines (ISSN 2076-393X). This special issue belongs to the section "Veterinary Vaccines".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 May 2022) | Viewed by 31787

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Kyung-Woo Lee

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Department of Animal Science and Technology, Konkuk University, Seoul 05029, Republic of Korea
Interests: chicken nutrition; feed additives; necrotic enteritis; coccidiosis; animal welfare
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleague,

Avian coccidiosis and necrotic enteritis (NE) are the top enteric diseases compromising the performance and gut health of chickens. Avian coccidiosis is caused by at least seven distinct species of Eimeria apicomplexa protozoa that infect the intestinal mucosa. Avian NE is an acute or chronic enterotoxemia in chickens caused by Clostridium perfringens, a gram-positive, anaerobic, spore-forming bacterium, and characterized by a fibronecrotic enteritis of the small intestine. Until now, preventive measures (i.e., vaccines) against the enteric pathogens have not been developed that warrant the integrative strategies incorporating from veterinary to nutrition improving immunity and gut health of the hosts. In this Special Issue, we will include reviews of current understanding on the pathogenesis and control measures of avian coccidiosis and NE, and research articles presenting new findings of the molecular and immunological working mechanisms of veterinary and alternative measures controlling the enteric pathogens.

Prof. Dr. Kyung-Woo Lee
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Vaccines is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Avian coccidiosis
Avian necrotic enteritis
Vaccines
Immunomodulation
Prophylactics

Published Papers (5 papers)

Download All Papers

Research

Jump to: Review

11 pages, 821 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Immunization with Pooled Antigens for Clostridium perfringens Conferred Partial Protection against Experimental Necrotic Enteritis in Broiler Chickens

by Baohong Yuan, Zhifeng Sun, Mingmin Lu, Hyun Lillehoj, Youngsub Lee, Liheng Liu, Xianghe Yan, Danchen Aaron Yang and Charles Li

Vaccines 2022, 10(6), 979; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines10060979 - 20 Jun 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1980

Abstract

Necrotic enteritis (NE) is a multifactorial and important enteric infectious disease etiologically caused by pathogenic C. perfringens infection, accounting for the estimated loss of around USD 6 billion in the global poultry industry. The increasing incidence of NE was found to be associated with the voluntary reduction or withdrawal of antibiotic growth promoters from animal feed during recent years. Therefore, the development of effective vaccines specific to NE assumes a priority for the poultry industry. This study aimed to identify the potential C. perfringens proteins as vaccine targets for NE. Three recombinant C. perfringens proteins targeting five antigens were prepared: two chimeric proteins (alpha-toxin and NetB, fructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolase (FBA) and a zinc metalloprotease (Zm)), and one single collagen adhesion protein (Cna). Their protection efficacies were evaluated with a potent challenge model of Eimeria maxima/C. perfringens dual infections using a netB⁺tpeL⁺ C. perfringens strain. Young chicks were immunized twice subcutaneously with adjuvanted C. perfringens proteins on Days 4 and 15. At six days after the second immunization, the chickens immunized with Cna, FBA, and Zm antigens, and alpha-toxin had much higher serum antibody titers than unvaccinated controls prior to the challenge. Following the challenge, the pooled antigen-immunized group demonstrated no mortality and the least lesion scores against virulent challenge. The results indicate that the immunization with multicomponent antigens, including C. perfringens housekeeping protein Cna, may confer partial protection. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Veterinary and Alternative Strategies to Control Avian Coccidiosis and Necrotic Enteritis)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

14 pages, 17186 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Probiotics on the Performance and Intestinal Health of Broiler Chickens Infected with Eimeria tenella

by Muhammad Mohsin, Ziping Zhang and Guangwen Yin

Vaccines 2022, 10(1), 97; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines10010097 - 10 Jan 2022

Cited by 20 | Viewed by 3661

Abstract

Coccidiosis is an important parasitic disease of poultry with great economic importance. Due to drug resistance issues, the study was conducted to investigate how probiotics (Lactobacillus plantarum or L. plantarum) affected oocysts per gram of feces (OPG), fecal scores, feed conversion ratio (FCR), immunomodulatory effect in terms of the cell-mediated and humoral immune response. Serum chemistry (ALT, AST, LDH, and creatinine) was measured in different treated chicken groups. mRNA expression levels of antioxidant enzymes (SOD 1 and CAT), peptide transporter 1 (PepT 1), and tight junction proteins (ZO and CLDN 1) were also examined in chicken groups infected with Eimeria tenella (E. tenella). Chickens supplemented with L. plantarum 1 × 10⁸ CFU (colony-forming unit) showed an improved cell-mediated and humoral immune response, compared with the control group (p < 0.05). Probiotics also enhanced the performance of antioxidant enzymes, PepT 1, and tight junction proteins, and improved serum chemistry (AST, ALT, and LDH), compared with control-infected, non-medicated chickens. However, no significant difference (p > 0.05) was observed in CLDN 1 expression level and creatinine in all treated chicken groups. These findings demonstrated that probiotics supplementation in the feed can protect the birds against E. tenella infection. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Veterinary and Alternative Strategies to Control Avian Coccidiosis and Necrotic Enteritis)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research

25 pages, 1182 KiB

Open AccessReview

Coccidiosis: Recent Progress in Host Immunity and Alternatives to Antibiotic Strategies

by Youngsub Lee, Mingmin Lu and Hyun S. Lillehoj

Vaccines 2022, 10(2), 215; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines10020215 - 29 Jan 2022

Cited by 45 | Viewed by 8785

Abstract

Coccidiosis is an avian intestinal disease caused by several distinct species of Eimeria parasites that damage the host’s intestinal system, resulting in poor nutrition absorption, reduced growth, and often death. Increasing evidence from recent studies indicates that immune-based strategies such as the use of recombinant vaccines and various dietary immunomodulating feed additives can improve host defense against intracellular parasitism and reduce intestinal damage due to inflammatory responses induced by parasites. Therefore, a comprehensive understanding of the complex interactions between the host immune system, gut microbiota, enteroendocrine system, and parasites that contribute to the outcome of coccidiosis is necessary to develop logical strategies to control coccidiosis in the post-antibiotic era. Most important for vaccine development is the need to understand the protective role of the local intestinal immune response and the identification of various effector molecules which mediate anti-coccidial activity against intracellular parasites. This review summarizes the current understanding of the host immune response to coccidiosis in poultry and discusses various non-antibiotic strategies which are being developed for coccidiosis control. A better understanding of the basic immunobiology of pertinent host–parasite interactions in avian coccidiosis will facilitate the development of effective anti-Eimeria strategies to mitigate the negative effects of coccidiosis. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Veterinary and Alternative Strategies to Control Avian Coccidiosis and Necrotic Enteritis)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

30 pages, 1294 KiB

Open AccessReview

Role of Physiology, Immunity, Microbiota, and Infectious Diseases in the Gut Health of Poultry

by Samiru S. Wickramasuriya, Inkyung Park, Kyungwoo Lee, Youngsub Lee, Woo H. Kim, Hyoyoun Nam and Hyun S. Lillehoj

Vaccines 2022, 10(2), 172; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines10020172 - 22 Jan 2022

Cited by 53 | Viewed by 11599

Abstract

“Gut health” refers to the physical state and physiological function of the gastrointestinal tract and in the livestock system; this topic is often focused on the complex interacting components of the intestinal system that influence animal growth performance and host-microbial homeostasis. Regardless, there is an increasing need to better understand the complexity of the intestinal system and the various factors that influence gut health, since the intestine is the largest immune and neuroendocrine organ that interacts with the most complex microbiome population. As we face the post-antibiotic growth promoters (AGP) era in many countries of the world, livestock need more options to deal with food security, food safety, and antibiotic resilience to maintain agricultural sustainability to feed the increasing human population. Furthermore, developing novel antibiotic alternative strategies needs a comprehensive understanding of how this complex system maintains homeostasis as we face unpredictable changes in external factors like antibiotic-resistant microbes, farming practices, climate changes, and consumers’ preferences for food. In this review, we attempt to assemble and summarize all the relevant information on chicken gut health to provide deeper insights into various aspects of gut health. Due to the broad and complex nature of the concept of “gut health”, we have highlighted the most pertinent factors related to the field performance of broiler chickens. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Veterinary and Alternative Strategies to Control Avian Coccidiosis and Necrotic Enteritis)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

13 pages, 667 KiB

Open AccessReview

Role of Clostridium perfringens Necrotic Enteritis B-like Toxin in Disease Pathogenesis

by Kyung-Woo Lee and Hyun S. Lillehoj

Vaccines 2022, 10(1), 61; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines10010061 - 31 Dec 2021

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 4487

Abstract

Necrotic enteritis (NE) is a devastating enteric disease caused by Clostridium perfringens type A/G that impacts the global poultry industry by compromising the performance, health, and welfare of chickens. Coccidiosis is a major contributing factor to NE. Although NE pathogenesis was believed to be facilitated by α-toxin, a chromosome-encoded phospholipase C enzyme, recent studies have indicated that NE B-like (NetB) toxin, a plasmid-encoded pore-forming heptameric protein, is the primary virulence factor. Since the discovery of NetB toxin, the occurrence of NetB⁺ C. perfringens strains has been increasingly reported in NE-afflicted poultry flocks globally. It is generally accepted that NetB toxin is the primary virulent factor in NE pathogenesis although scientific evidence is emerging that suggests other toxins contribute to NE. Because of the complex nature of the host-pathogen interaction in NE pathogenesis, the interaction of NetB with other potential virulent factors of C. perfringens needs better characterization. This short review will summarize the primary virulence factors involved in NE pathogenesis with an emphasis on NetB toxin, and a new detection method for large-scale field screening of NetB toxin in biological samples from NE-afflicted commercial broiler flocks. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Veterinary and Alternative Strategies to Control Avian Coccidiosis and Necrotic Enteritis)

► Show Figures