IMMUNOLOGY, HEALTH AND DISEASE

Ways to minimize bacterial infections, with special reference to

Escherichia coli, to cope with the first-week mortality in chicks:
an updated overview

Ayman A. Swelum ,*,y,1 Ahmed R. Elbestawy,z Mohamed T. El-Saadony,x Elsayed O. S. Hussein,*

Rashed Alhotan,* Gamaleldin M. Suliman,* Ayman E. Taha,# Hani Ba-Awadh,*
Khaled A. El-Tarabily ,ǁǁ,{ and Mohamed E. Abd El-Hack ,**

*Department of Animal Production, College of Food and Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451,
Saudi Arabia; yDepartment of Theriogenology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig 44511,
Egypt; zPoultry and Fish Diseases Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Damanhour University, El Beheira
22511, Egypt; xDepartment of Agricultural Microbiology, Faculty of Agriculture, Zagazig University, Zagazig 44511,
Egypt; #Department of Animal Husbandry and Animal Wealth Development, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine,
Alexandria University, Edfina 22578, Egypt; ǁǁDepartment of Biology, College of Science, United Arab Emirates
University, Al-Ain 15551, United Arab Emirates; {Harry Butler Institute, Murdoch University, Murdoch, 6150,
Western Australia, Australia; and **Department of Poultry, Faculty of Agriculture, Zagazig University, Zagazig
44511, Egypt

ABSTRACT On the commercial level, the poultry prophylactic antibiotics were used to control mortality
industry strives to find new techniques to combat bird’s associated with bacterial infections of neonatal poultry in
infection. During the first week, mortality rate increases the past, the commercial poultry industry is searching for
in birds because of several bacterial infections of about alternatives. This is because of the consumer’s demand
ten bacterial species, especially colisepticemia. This af- for reduced antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Despite the
fects the flock production, uniformity, and suitability for vast and rapid development in vaccine technologies
slaughter because of chronic infections. Escherichia coli against common chicken infectious diseases, no anti-
(E. coli) causes various disease syndromes in poultry, biotic alternatives are commercially available to prevent
including yolk sac infection (omphalitis), respiratory bacterial infections of neonatal chicks. Recent research
tract infection, and septicemia. The E. coli infections in confirmed the utility of probiotics to improve the health
the neonatal poultry are being characterized by septi- of neonatal poultry. However, probiotics were not effi-
cemia. The acute septicemia may cause death, while the cacious to minimize death and clinical signs associated
subacute form could be characterized through pericar- with neonatal chicks’ bacterial infections. This review
ditis, airsacculitis, and perihepatitis. Many E. coli iso- focuses on the causes of the increased mortality in broiler
lates are commonly isolated from commercial broiler chicks during the first week of age and the methods used
chickens as serogroups O1, O2, and O78. Although to minimize death.
Key words: bacterial infection, broiler, pathogenic Escherichia coli, first week mortality
2021 Poultry Science 100:101039
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psj.2021.101039

INTRODUCTION European standards, Yassin et al. (2009) postulated

that when the daily cumulative mortality rates are too
The commercial poultry industry depends on raising high, the farmer should reduce the number of broiler
birds in large quantities at high stocking densities, espe- chicks in the next cycle. However, owing to the highly
cially in broiler production systems. According to the intensive management systems with overcrowded barn
environments, infectious diseases are inevitable. Hence,
minimizing the mortality in a flock is crucial to gain
Ó 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of Poultry profit in subsequent cycles. Notably, the first week of
Science Association Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY- life is very important for the chick as its entire life is
NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). transforming during this period. Starting from a condi-
Received November 11, 2020.
Accepted January 19, 2021. tioned life in the hatchery, they move on to an indepen-
1
Corresponding author: aswelum@ksu.edu.sa dent life in a barn where they have to adjust to new feed,

1
2 SWELUM ET AL.

water, thermoregulation, and competition and fight in- present review article highlights the various bacterial in-
fections at the same time (Vieira et al., 1999). Moreover, fections that cause the FWM with special reference to E.
as their immune systems are not fully developed at hatch coli as a major and main participant in FWM of commer-
(Sedeik et al., 2019; El-Shall et al., 2020), the chick is sus- cial broiler chicks.
ceptible to various infections, including bacterial, viral,
and parasitic. Out of these infections, bacterial infections FWM in Broilers
occur worldwide in a similar pattern causing massive
economic losses to the poultry industry (Nhung et al., The FWM is an essential indicator of the chick
2017). quality as well as welfare. The ideal FWM rate in a
Infections caused by harmful bacteria, particularly poultry flock is 0 to 1% (Heier et al., 2002). As
during the first week of birds’ lives, result in severe mor- FWM highly contributes to the total mortality of
talities, poor weight gain, and poor flock uniformity. the operation, it is important to control it. Multiple
This leads to economic losses for producers. Using the factors contribute to increasing the rate of FWM,
prophylactic and in-feed growth-promoting antibiotics including breeder factors such as age, strain, genetic
was the preventative strategy for a long time to face the line, and egg weight (Lighter eggs cause more chick
on-going problems. However, various public health con- mortality) (Sedeik et al., 2019). Also, hatchery, feed,
cerns, such as the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacte- and environmental or housing climate (excess
ria in the environment and antibiotic residues in food, ammonia or dust) and season are included factors
have raised questions regarding this practice (Yassin et al., 2009). A study carried out in Taiwan
(Cervantes, 2015; Mehdi et al., 2018). The poultry indus- reported that broiler chicks’ cumulative mortality de-
try worldwide is choosing antibiotic-free production pends on the type of ventilation, flock size, distance of
because of rapidly increasing customer demand resulting shipping the chicks, and delivery route (Chou et al.,
from public health points of view (Cervantes, 2015). 2004). The infectious causes contributed to 50% of
Several bacterial infections were proved to cause high FWM, while dehydration and nephropathy associated
mortalities in chicks (first-week mortality [FWM]). As a with visceral gout contributed as the other causes in
major cause of high FWM, Escherichia coli infections layer chicks (Olsen et al., 2012).
lead to various disease syndromes in baby chicks,
including yolk sac infection (YSI) or omphalitis, enteritis, Bacterial Infections as a Cause of FWM
swollen head, respiratory tract infection, cellulitis, and
septicemia (Nolan et al., 2020). The acute form of E. Bacterial infections are a leading cause of FWM
coli infection results in septicemic lesions and mortality. (Karunarathna et al., 2017). Despite the scarcity of
In the subacute form, pericarditis, airsacculitis, and peri- informative studies, Kemmett et al. (2014) reported
hepatitis are the prominent lesions (Lutful Kabir, 2017; their findings on the significant contribution of E. coli
Nolan et al., 2020). Many E. coli isolates commonly asso- on chicks’ mortality within the first 48-72 h of place-
ciated with commercial broiler chickens belonged to ment. In their study, approximately 70% of the dead
serogroups O1, O2, and O78 (Gomis et al., 2001; Ewers chicks displayed colibacillosis signs, and thirty different
et al., 2004). Pathogenic E. coli isolates were categorized virulence profiles were identified in the E. coli isolates.
into intestinal pathogenic E. coli, or extraintestinal path- In another study on 48 layer flocks, the average FWM
ogenic E. coli (ExPEC), depending on the location of the was about 1.4%. More than half of the flocks showed
infection. The intestinal E. coli includes enteropatho- FWM due to infectious causes, YSI followed by septi-
genic, enterotoxigenic, enteroinvasive, enterohemorrha- cemia being demonstrated in 94% of the flocks. Salmo-
gic, and enteroaggregative E. coli. In this respect, the nella is the next frequently isolated genus from YSI
study of Russo et al. (2000) identified several traits for with high FWM in broiler and layer chicks, followed
distinguishing the 3 pathotypes of ExPEC, including by many other bacterial species as Pseudomonas,
avian pathogenic E. coli (APEC), neonatal meningitis Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Proteus, Klebsiella,
E. coli, and uropathogenic E. coli. Ewers et al. (2003) re- Enterococcus, Corynebacterium, Citrobacter, Aeromo-
ported that E. coli pathogenicity was generally enhanced nas, Bacillus, Clostridium, Micrococcus, Yersinia,
or initiated by several influencing factors: environmental Enterobacter, Aerobacter, Achromobacter, and Alcali-
factors, viral infections, mycoplasma infections, and im- genes leading to several economic losses (Shivaprasad,
mune suppression. Generally, young birds are more sus- 2000; Cort
es et al., 2004; Khan et al., 2004; Olsen
ceptible to severe infections than adults (Rodriguez- et al., 2012). E. coli and Enterococcus faecalis were
Siek et al., 2005a). The horizontal infections with E. the most frequently isolated organisms from those infec-
coli occur by the contact with other birds, in addition tions (Olsen et al., 2012). In a study in Ethiopia during
to fecal and oral routes. On the other hand, the E. coli ver- 2010-2011, a prevalence of 33.1% YSI was recorded in
tical transmission was reported from breeders through the FWM predominantly among 3- to 5-day-old chicks.
eggshell contamination (Nolan et al., 2020). Similar to E. coli was isolated as the most prevalent bacteria from
E. coli, paratyphoid Salmonella species cause YSI and these cases, followed by Staphylococcus aureus (Amare
septicemia in newly hatched chicks triggering increased et al., 2013). Moreover, Rai et al. (2005) reviewed the
FWM which causes economic losses to the poultry indus- YSI prevalence data in the previous studies. They re-
try (Yassin et al., 2009; Kemmett et al., 2014). The ported that YSI is the most common cause of FWM
 MINIMIZING FIRST-WEEK MORTALITY IN CHICKS 3
in chicks. The various reports concluded that the inci- Serogroups, Antigenic Structure, and
dence of YSI varied between 5.1 and 20.7%, and mortal- Virulence Factors of APEC
ity has been up to 31.5%. However, Karunarathna et al.
(2017) reported the incidence of Enterococcus (29.71%) In E. coli, O antigen determines the serogroup and K
and E. coli (19.46%) isolated from dead chick embryos (capsular) or H (flagellar) antigens determine the sero-
during the incubation. types (Fratamico et al., 2016). O somatic antigen com-
prises the antigenic portion of the lipopolysaccharide
(LPS) in the cell wall (Figure 2). Owing to the O antigens’
E. coli Infections in Chickens high variability, it is used to differentiate serogroups as an
epidemiological tool (Stenutz et al., 2006). There are 180
E. coli is the species of the genus Escherichia that O, 60 H, 80 K, and 17 F (fimbrial or pillus-P) antigens
belongs to the family Enterobacteriaceae. It is a (Stenutz et al., 2006). The immune response in poultry
gram-negative, non–acid-fast, uniform staining, non– birds is mainly directed toward the O antigen of E. coli.
spore-forming bacillus. Most of the E. coli strains According to serotyping, the most common serotypes
have peritrichous flagella and therefore are motile. that have been associated with poultry infections are
They are able to grow in both aerobic and anaerobic O1, O2, O18, O35, O36, O78, and O111 (Nolan et al.,
environments. They can grow on nutrient media at 2020). Out of those, O1, O2, and O78 are the most
18 to 44 C, fermenting glucose and producing gas. commonly isolated from cases (Gomis et al., 2001;
The E. coli produce diffused turbidity in both cultures, Ewers et al., 2004). K1 capsular antigen is frequently
and on blood agar, colonies are usually 1 to 3 mm. The associated with APEC strains, and it is associated with
colony morphology may vary with rough colonies resistance to serum bactericidal effects (La Ragione and
larger with irregular margins and smooth colonies Woodward, 2002; Nakazato et al., 2009). Flagellar (H)
raised, wet-looking with well-demarcated margins antigen, which projects out of the cell, is rotated to pro-
(Nolan et al., 2020). Generally, the recorded E. coli se- vide motility. In E. coli and several other species, the cen-
rotypes are more than 1,000 but fewer have been impli- tral region of the flagellum is variable and consists of H-
cated in poultry diseases (Awad et al., 2020). E. coli is serotype–specific epitopes (Wang et al., 2003).
commonly present in the intestinal tract, mucosal sur-
faces, bird’s skin, and feathers. Chickens’ intestine con- Virulence Factors of Pathogenic E. coli
tains about 106 colony-forming units of E. coli per
Isolated From Birds
gram feces. These strains always belong to both path-
ogenic and nonpathogenic types (Awad et al., 2020). Protections or Serum Resistance Genes Serum
Nevertheless, only these strains have specific virulence resistance virulence genes (VGs) allow the bacteria to
factors contributing to the ability to cause diseases in survive in the exterior of the gastrointestinal tract and
birds and are known as APEC. These infections are overcome the host’s defense mechanisms involving com-
mostly extraintestinal, with a majority being respira- plement and antimicrobial peptides (Schouler et al.,
tory and systemic infections. As a result, APEC has 2012). Mellata et al. (2003) reported that the capsular
been categorized as ExPEC that share similar viru- K1 and somatic O78 LPS increased serum resistance of
lence to the E. coli strains that cause human urinary the APEC, leading to bacteremia. Nilsson et al. (2014)
tract infections, sepsis, and newborn meningitis showed a strong correlation between the APEC patho-
(Manges et al., 2012; Mellata, 2013) (Figure 1). Fecal genicity and 4 serum resistance VGs such as increased
contamination of eggs leads to YSI, which results in serum survival (iss), structural genes of colicin V operon
late embryonic mortality or early chick mortality up (cvaC), surface exclusion protein, and outer membrane
to 3 wks after hatching (Nolan et al., 2020). It was re- protein A. This was significantly associated with APEC
ported that APEC’s egg transmission is common, lead- compared with avian fecal E. coli. However, the indi-
ing to high FWM with consideration of vertically vidual existence of the iss gene or whether this iss gene
transmitted fluoroquinolone-resistant E. coli from clin- was a marker gene for the presence of the plasmids
ically normal breeders (Rosario et al., 2004; correlating with APEC pathogenicity was not
Giovanardi et al., 2005; Petersen et al., 2006). Based confirmed. The determination of APEC resistance to
on the infection’s acquired time, embryonic, or at heterophils and macrophages is another important trait
hatch, mortality could start as soon as hatching or as that promotes the successful infection. It may be related
late as 20 h after hatch. Early studies on APEC strains to complement resistance. Kottom et al. (1997) noticed
showed that O1, O2, O15, O35, and O78 serotypes were that a complement-sensitive mutant E. coli (C3 sub-
mostly associated with colibacillosis outbreaks (Dho- units) bound and phagocytozed is more significant than
Moulin et al., 1999). A later study by Nolan et al. the wild-type APEC strain from which it had been
(2020) confirmed the presence of O18, O81, O115, derived. The presence of type 1 and P fimbriae, O78
O116, and O132 serotypes, which were signals for the antigen, and the 0-min chromosomal region contributed
emergence of new pathogenic serotypes. In addition, to the protection of APEC against the bactericidal effect
Younis et al. (2017) and El-Sawah et al. (2018) showed of phagocytes, in particular, heterophils (Mellata et al.,
wide antigenic diversity among APEC strains 2003). Certain APEC strains can survive within mac-
worldwide. rophages and cause their destruction through apoptosis
4 SWELUM ET AL.

Figure 1. Prevalence and possible transmission of extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli (EXPEC).

(Bastiani et al., 2005). Caspases, enzymes essential for virulent to turkey poults. This indicates the importance
apoptosis, were activated by a strain of APEC of structures that provide adhesive properties (adhe-
(APEC17), which resulted in cytotoxicity within 8 h of sins), increasing virulence in ExPEC. ExPEC strains
infection (Bastiani et al., 2005). encode many adhesions that promote the attachment of
Adhesions Bacterial adhesion is based on the recogni- the bacteria to cell receptors and are very important for
tion between bacterial surface components and specific developing septicemia (Monroy et al., 2005). Type 1
receptors in the host tissues. Arp et al. (1980) fimbriae (F1 fimbriae) have been involved with the
concluded that piliated and motile E. coli were more initial stages of upper respiratory colonization.

Figure 2. Antigenic structure of pathogenic Escherichia coli. Abbreviations: K, capsule; O, antigen and lipid A of LPS; F, fimbriae; and H, flagella.
 MINIMIZING FIRST-WEEK MORTALITY IN CHICKS 5
In contrast, the P fimbriae were involved in the colo- identified with a high frequency between APEC
nization of the internal organs such as air sacs, lungs, compared with avian fecal E. coli. The existence of
kidney, blood, and pericardial fluid, depicting their enterohaemolysin, secreted autotransporter toxin, and
involvement in later stages of infection (Wooley et al., cytotoxic necrotizing factor 1 genes has also been
1998). The F1 fimbriae were encoded by 9 fim genes described in APEC strains (da Silva et al., 2017). How-
which include a major protein named FimA and minor ever, their function in pathogenesis was not fully clarified.
proteins named as FimF, FimG, and FimH adhesions. In addition, some of the toxins’ genes (haemolysin,
Nevertheless, an earlier study of Arne et al. (2000) cytolethal distending toxin, and cvaC) have been asso-
showed that the APEC FimH mutant strain failed to ciated with large transmissible plasmids, indicating that
adhere to the chicken trachea epithelial cells in vitro. these VGs might be easily transmitted to other strains
The P fimbriae are hemagglutinating fimbriae with (Mellata et al., 2012). A recent study by Murase et al.
mannose-resistant properties; they were found in E. (2016) suggested that hlyF, one of the ColV plasmid
coli strains producing human urinary tract infections genes, is a molecular indicator for APEC. Moreover, this
as well as some APEC (Arne et al., 2000). Moreover, gene was directly included in the outer membrane vesicle
they were linked to the colonization of internal organs, production. Shiga toxin gene had been detected in APEC
which led to septicemia and lethality in one-day-old by PCR, but the proof of its expression was little. Lately,
chickens. This is a temperature-sensitive hemagglutinin a strong mediator for apoptosis (caspase 3/7-induced)
(tsh) gene that causes hemagglutination activity at and cytotoxic action was described, after a 6-h infection
26 C and repression at 42 C (Provence et al., 1994). assay using macrophage cell line by an APEC strain
The tsh gene is an important virulence marker of (Bastiani et al., 2005). Other toxins described in APEC
APEC, having a strong association with internal organs strains involved the heat-labile enterotoxin and the heat-
colonization, septicemia, and lethality in one-day-old stable enterotoxin 1 (AstA), homolog of enter-
chicks (Ngeleka et al., 2002). At the same time, this pro- oaggregative E. coli (Janben et al., 2001).
tein’s mucinolytic ability suggests that it must be play- Iron acquisition mechanisms In APEC, various iron-
ing an important role in the colonization of the acquisition mechanisms or operons were found on large
tracheal mucosa (Kobayashi et al., 2010). P fimbriae plasmids (siderophores, aerobactin or hydroxamate
were encoded by pyelonephritis-associated pili gene clus- siderophore, yersiniabactin, sit, and iro systems) which
ters (pap). This pap gene cluster involved 11 genes are less common in commensal E. coli strains (Dozois
(papI, papB, papA, papH, papC, papD, papJ, papK, et al., 2000; La Ragione and Woodward, 2002; Sabri
papE, papF, papG), for the biogenesis and synthesis of et al., 2006; Johnson et al., 2006a, b; Caza et al., 2008;
the P fimbriae (Dozois et al., 2000). Another type of Tivendale et al., 2009; Caza et al., 2011). Similar to S.
adhesin in APEC, other E. coli strains, and Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium isolate (Zhou et al.,
enterica is the curli fimbriae (Nakazato et al., 2009). 1999), this sit operon was described in APEC using
They were identified and reported as thin coiled surface genomic subtractive hybridization and signature-tagged
structures that consist of a single type of subunit called mutagenesis (Li et al., 2005; Schouler et al., 2012). The
curlin. It is associated with the bacterial binding to the sit operon encodes an ABC transport system involved in
extracellular matrix proteins such as fibronectin, lami- iron and manganese metabolism and resistance to
nin, fibrinogen, and H kininogen, enhancing the survival hydrogen peroxide (Sabri et al., 2006).
of such bacteria in the extracellular environment (Ols
en Invasins The ibeA gene is found in chromosomal path-
et al., 1998). According to La Ragione and Woodward ogenicity islands (PAIs) (APEC O1) of APEC, promot-
(2002), the genes accountable for curli fimbriae expres- ing the invasion of brain microvascular endothelial cells
sion were encoded by 2 types of operons: csgBAC and (BMECs) by neonatal meningitis ExPEC. The inactiva-
csgDEFG. CsgA sequence was recognized in all APEC tion of ibeA significantly reduced the abilities of APEC
and recovered from chickens suffering from septicemia strain BEN2908 to invade human BMEC, adhere to
(Amabile de Campos et al., 2005). Additional adhesions BMEC, and cause avian colibacillosis. The ibeA occurs
recognized between APEC strains suggested to be in 14–20% of APEC (Rodriguez-Siek et al., 2005a,b;
involved in these strains’ pathogenesis include type 1– Germon et al., 2005; Kariyawasam et al., 2006; Cortes
like fimbriae, AC/1 fimbriae, Afa, Sfa, F17, and Eae et al., 2008). Also, ibeA of APEC BEN2908 dominates
fimbriae–related sequences (McPeake et al., 2005). the cellular endocytic pathways to invade cultured avian
Toxins Cytotoxic activity in APEC was first studied in hepatocytes and human pneumocytes (Chanteloup
the early 1990s (Fantinatti et al., 1994). Several toxins et al., 2011).
were described in APEC strains but with unclear roles in
pathogenesis. These involve cytolethal distending toxin,
enterohaemolysin, cytotoxic necrotizing factor 1, cyto- Virulence Gene Traits in APEC Isolated
toxin designated VT2y (Parreira et al., 1998), microcin From Chicks Worldwide
ColV (cvaC), haemolysin, and secreted autotransporter
toxin (T
oth et al., 2003). According to Ewers et al. The pathogenicity of APEC in relation to the presence
(2005), the vacuolating autotransporter-type toxin of certain VG patterns was studied. Several patterns
coded on a pathogenicity island named VAT-PAI was have been suggested as diagnostic tools for rapid detec-
found to have a role in APEC’s virulence as it was tion of APEC. These patterns include pentaplex pattern
6 SWELUM ET AL.

containing hlyF, iutA, iroN, iss, and ompT genes contamination on the farm. Magwedere et al. (2015)
(Johnson et al., 2008), the presence of 5 to 8 genes of indicated that foodborne and waterborne illnesses asso-
the iss, tsh, papC, astA, irp2, vat, iucD, and cva/cvi ciated with Salmonella spp. were more commonly due
genes (Kwon et al., 2008), and the presence of crl, to increased fecal pollution of feed resources. The study
fimH, and aer gene patterns (Ghanbarpour et al., also reiterated that animal waste as fertilizer for crops
2011). Recently, the presence of one of 4 combination or raw materials destined for producing animal feed is
patterns of VGs—A [iutA1, P(F11)1], B [iutA1, a common practice by some farmers. The Salmonella se-
P(F11)-, frzorf41], C [iutA1, P(F11)-, frzorf4-, rotypes found in feed ingredients are often not the same
O781], and D [iutA-, sitA 1 aec261]—were reported as those commonly found in processed poultry. It is plau-
(Schouler et al., 2012). Finally, at least 8 to 13 VGs sible that such raw materials may lead to subsequent
were detected in chicken, whereas intermediate patho- contamination of the feed mill environment. Poultry
genic isolates contained at least about 5 to 8 VGs feed, which comprises 68% of total production costs, is
(Wang et al., 2015). typically composed of maize and soybean meal mixtures,
In Egypt, 4 VGs (iucD, irp2, iss, and tsh) were including several vitamins and minerals, and generally
detected using multiplex PCR in APEC serotype O27, contains 2 or 3 medications (Jones et al., 2016). The mi-
while O78 and O86 had 2 VG (iucD and iss) and O115 crobial contamination of different animal feeds depend
had iss VGs gene only (Ammar et al., 2011). Helal on the water activity, oxygen concentration, pH, and
(2012) found out iss and iucD VGs using multiplex nutrient composition of the feed ration (Kim et al.,
PCR. Both genes were present in E. coli serotypes O1 2007). Feed materials are usually inoculated during
and O146, while O114 and O119 serotypes only have growing, harvesting, processing, storage, and dispersal
iss gene. Regarding the VGs in APEC showing of the feed (Maciorowski et al., 2004; Jones et al.,
extended-spectrum beta-lactamase activity, AbdEl- 2016). A soil mixed with animal feces can contaminate
Tawab et al. (2018) detected iss and outer membrane standing crops either by direct deposition or fertilizer.
protein A VGs only in all examined isolates. Houseflies and cockroaches feeding on the fecal matter
can act as both vectors and reservoirs for pathogens in
Pathobiology of Colibacillosis in Neonatal the environment (Maciorowski et al., 2004; Kim et al.,
Chicks 2007). Most plant-based feeds provided to small animals
have a difficulty to be treated or disinfected. As a result,
In young chickens, E. coli mostly transmitted horizon- the risk of foodborne diseases on animals and consumers
tally through the respiratory tract by the inhalation of will be possible (Maciorowski et al., 2007). Heat treat-
contaminated fecal dust in hatchers or barn. Chicks also ment is the most effective control method used to inacti-
get infected in the hatcheries by APEC-contaminated vate feed pathogens (Abd El-Hack et al., 2017; Saeed
or infected eggs (Nolan et al., 2020). These infections et al., 2017). Reductions in bacterial contamination by
were suggested to happen by the entry of bacteria heat depend on the temperature, treatment time, and
through the yolk sac. Sometimes, vertical transmission moisture content of the feed (Maciorowski et al., 2004).
of E. coli is also possible from a hen with salpingitis caused Chemical treatments, such as organic acids alone or
by E. coli. During the incubation period, APEC causes formaldehyde, are sometimes used (Meeker and
YSI and embryo mortality. Posthatch infections happen Meisinger, 2015). Also, pelleting is a process of pressing
24 to 48 h after hatching, and mortality elevate up to 10 to conditioned material with specific dimensions of open-
20% for 2 to 3 wks because of septicemia. In the initial part ings and thickness. One of the supplementary benefits
of the infection, lung congestion, edematous serous mem- of pelleting is the destruction of pathogens and reduced
branes, and splenitis were apparent. A few days later, total microorganisms due to the increased temperature
acute, fibrinoheterophilic polyserositis appears involving during processing (Zimonja, 2009). Applications of
the pericardium, pleura, air sacs, and perihepatic tissue. steam and water in animal feed manufacturing have
These chicks usually have retained yolk sacs and yolk ab- long been recognized as a good way to achieve high-
scesses, indicating the yolk sac entry of bacteria. Out of quality pellets (Sredanovi
c et al., 2005). Because poultry
the survivors, up to 5% of the flock may be stunted, and feeds are a main source of foodborne pathogens, on-farm
the unaffected birds may grow naturally (Lutful Kabir, control efforts are needed to decrease and prevent feed
2017; Nolan et al., 2020). contamination (Sanderson et al., 2005; Maciorowski
et al., 2007). Improving biosecurity measures for feed
Bacterial Contamination of Poultry Feeds storage at the feed mill or on the farm would likely be
a more cost-effective risk management strategy to lower
Sanderson et al. (2005) reported that coliform bacte- pathogen proliferation in animal feeds.
ria, including Escherichia spp., Klebsiella spp., and
Enterobacter spp., were the species contaminating ani-
mal feeds most. As such, they prompt zoonotic disease Bacterial Contamination in Water
outbreaks and secondary infections in humans resulting Resources
in major hospitalization cases. Therefore, the ingredient
quality control component of a poultry operation feed Water composition varies with geographical region
mill is an important first step in preventing birds’ and environmental conditions. Water contamination
 MINIMIZING FIRST-WEEK MORTALITY IN CHICKS 7
can occur if surface water drains into the well, especially animals (MacDonald et al., 2009). Today, these ani-
if the water source is exposed. Several researchers have mals’ production occurs in CAFOs, which are essen-
demonstrated a positive association between drinking tially large-scale industrialized agricultural factory
water contaminations with E. coli O157:H7 and this or- farms. To qualify as a CAFO, a farming operation
ganism’s presence in poultry feces (Saha et al., 2009; must first be considered as an animal feeding operation,
Levantesi et al., 2012). Poor water quality may interfere which is defined as “a lot or facility where animals are
with digestion and subsequent bird performance (Narita kept confined and fed or maintained for 45 or more
et al., 2004; Bain et al., 2014). The effectiveness of vac- d per y, and crops, vegetation, or forage growth are
cines and medications administered through the water not sustained over a normal growing period” (USEPA,
can be reduced when water quality is poor (Narita 2009; Hribar, 2010).
et al., 2004). Leaky water through nipples inside the CAFOs are classified by type and number of animals
poultry house will wet the litter and lead to increasing and how they discharge their animal waste into the near-
ammonia production and prompt microorganism’s pro- est body of water. There are size thresholds in consid-
liferation (Ashbolt, 2015). Therefore, control measures ering a CAFO to be small, medium, or large. For
should be prioritized to prevent the occurrence of dis- poultry, especially laying hens or broilers, the CAFO
eases that are spread through water and would certainly (which has a liquid manure handling system) is consid-
result in great economic losses (Kostyla et al., 2015). In ered large with 30,000 or more chickens, medium with
this regard, water is an excellent transmission route for 9,000 – 29,999, and small with 9,000 or fewer chickens
agents responsible for human and animal diseases, (USEPA, 2009). A large number of animals means a
mainly those in which fecal-oral transmission occurs large amount of waste, where most environmental health
because contamination of water supplies still gradually issues arise. Poultry CAFO waste can have several con-
increases because of urban and rural activities (Bain taminants, such as nutrients, pathogens, and antibiotics
et al., 2014). In 2004, about 4 million people were still (Hribar, 2010). Previous studies have shown that
obtaining water from rivers, ponds, and springs, which poultry CAFOs have contaminated surrounding water-
were usually fecally contaminated and not treated. So, sheds by runoff containing poultry litter (bedding
safe and sufficient water and sanitation would reduce an- contaminated with feces) (Campagnolo et al., 2002;
imal mortalities and child deaths by 50% and prevent Mallin and Cahoon, 2003). Poultry litter can lead to
25% of diarrhea (Momba et al., 2003a,b). Such water- degradation of water quality through chemical and mi-
borne outbreaks often lead to a considerable number of crobial pollution. A study conducted by Harden (2015)
individuals being simultaneously affected, and in most found that watersheds that had swine and poultry
cases, the outbreak subsides when the water supply is CAFOs exhibited significantly greater nutrient contam-
adequately treated (Pillsbury et al., 2010). Momba ination, including ammonia, nitrate, and total N, than
et al. (2006) reported the abundance of pathogenic E. watersheds that lacked these operations. Previously,
coli, Salmonella typhimurium, and Vibrio cholerae in Stone et al. (1995) also found a stream that had both
both surface and groundwater sources in South Africa. swine and poultry CAFOs and elevated nutrient concen-
The presence of these pathogenic bacteria in drinking trations during both dry and wet weather events than a
water sources poses a serious health risk to consumers. nearby background stream that lacked these operations.
Eliminating E. coli O157:H7 from poultry drinking wa- Nutrients in poultry waste, such as nitrogen and phos-
ter may be a meritorious goal and an effective measure phorus, can contribute to eutrophication, which is
to reduce poultry drinking water contamination with when there are excessive amounts of nutrients in a
this pathogenic bacterium (Bucher et al., 2007). body of water, which leads to algal bloom growth which
Fecal contamination of water bodies can lead to can be detrimental to local ecosystems (USEPA, 2009;
waterborne illnesses and is detrimental to human Slonczewski, 2017).
health, with microbial contamination being a major A study conducted by Hurby (2015) in the United
cause. Concentrated animal feeding operations States found that some of these pathogens from poultry
(CAFOs) are a potential culprit for microbial water manure can survive weeks in soil, which means heavy
contamination. Human waste from these operations precipitation events could also cause water contamina-
can end up in streams, rivers, and lakes, especially tion by collecting and discharging the slurry (soil and
from rain events (Hribar, 2010). Fecal indicator bacte- water mixture) into the nearest body of water. Antibi-
ria such as E. coli have been used to detect and deter- otics are found in residual levels in waste as they were
mine the level of fecal contamination in environmental used to ensure the animals can stay healthy in fighting
waters to protect the general population from water- off a potential infection and, until recently, to promote
related pathogens (USEPA, 2009). However, owing to growth (Marshall et al., 2011). However, overuse of anti-
antibiotic use to protect animals from infection, CAFOs biotics has led to antibiotic resistance in pathogens such
have consequently grown antibiotic-resistant bacteria, as E. coli because of selective pressure, causing some
including E. coli, which also can end up in the environ- treatments for infection to be ineffective (Kaufman,
ment from animal waste (Hribar, 2010). American agri- 2000; Martínez-Antonio et al., 2008). In 2013, the
culture has transitioned from family-owned small Food & Drug Administration announced a plan to phase
farming to large-scale corporate farming in the last cen- out certain medical antibiotics used in livestock to curb
tury, with a few companies producing most of the food antibiotic resistance (USDA, 2013).
8 SWELUM ET AL.

Tyson, the leading poultry producer in the United antibiotic resistance of erythromycin (P 5 0.02) and
States, has curtailed antibiotic usage, and the company clindamycin (P , 0.001) in enterococci. Christenson
notably claimed it would eliminate antibiotics important and Stewart (2018) also found higher antibiotic resis-
to human medicine for raising its poultry by 2017 tance in E. coli isolated from surface water downstream
(Meyer, 2017). Monitoring E. coli and its potential for of CAFOs than from background watersheds (19% vs.
antibiotic resistance helps maintain water quality and 6%). Some studies have also noted higher levels of
subsequently, public health. contamination after precipitation events.

E. coli and Its Role in Water Quality

Prevention of Bacterial Infections in the
E. coli is a fecal coliform bacterium that is found in the Poultry Folks
intestines of humans and animals. Most strains are
considered harmless to humans, but some strains pro- Prevention of various infections that could be detri-
duce shiga-toxin, causing hemorrhagic diarrhea, and mental to poultry health is a significant responsibility
the serotype O157:H7 is the one most related to food- in managing a poultry operation. Poultry producers, vet-
borne illnesses (WHO, 2018). E. coli is commonly used erinarians, and other stakeholders have worked together
as a fecal indicator organism (FIO) of human and/or an- in developing protocols applying strict biosecurity mea-
imal fecal contamination in freshwater (Pitout et al., sures to prevent the introduction of infections at various
2017; CDC, 2018). E. coli is monitored in water as its stages of the production cycle.
presence is indicative of other potential pathogenic mi- Antibiotics use For years, prophylactic antibiotics
crobes that could also be present (Edberg et al., 2000). have been used in the commercial poultry industry to
For E. coli to qualify as an FIO, it should ideally meet prevent bacterial infections such as APEC, salmonel-
criteria according to the Routledge Handbook of Water losis, and necrotic enteritis. Antibiotic growth promoters
and Health (Bartram, 2015). While no one FIO were introduced in the 1940s when feeding dried mycelia
currently satisfies all the criteria under all circum- of Streptomyces aureofaciens containing chlortetracy-
stances, many regulatory agencies and scientists still cline residues was found to improve growth in animals
consider E. coli and members of the fecal coliform group (Castanon, 2007). The earliest report of the use of
as the best for microbial water quality testing (USEPA, growth-promoting antibiotics ran to 1946 when strep-
2009). tothricin, sulfasuxidin, and streptomycin were used in
Owing to high volumes of antibiotics used in animal the feed (Moore et al., 1946). Most commonly, ceftiofur
agriculture, monitoring antibiotic-resistant E. coli is (no longer in use), gentamicin, and lincomycin-
also of interest. Some poultry CAFOs use antibiotics spectinomycin were given in ovo at commercial hatch-
to prevent or treat diseases and, until recently, promote eries. Once they reached the barns, enrofloxacin (no
growth, but this can create potential antibiotic resis- longer in use), amoxicillin, penicillin-streptomycin,
tance in bacteria such as E. coli because of selective pres- oxytetracycline, sulfamethazine, sulfaquinoxaline,
sure (Martínez-Antonio et al., 2008). Antibiotic tetracycline, and tetracycline-neomycin were used in
resistance occurs when the antibiotic kills most of the water to prevent or treat neonatal diseases and bacterial
intended susceptible bacteria. Still, a small number septicemias. As for the in-feed antibiotics, the report
naturally immune to this antibiotic can survive and indicates that penicillin, sulfatrimethoprim, tylosin,
reproduce, creating a population of predominantly virginiamycin, bacitracin, and oxytetracycline were used
antibiotic-resistant bacteria (CDC, 2018). mainly to prevent necrotic enteritis. Ionophorous and
Antibiotic resistance has been an increasing public chemical anticoccidial drugs such as lasalocid, madur-
health issue in relation to CAFOs, as the use and overuse amicin, monensin, narasin, salinomycin, and nicarbazin
of antibiotics in animal feed have led to microbes were used in feed to prevent coccidiosis (Agunos et al.,
becoming antibiotic-resistant (Kaufman et al., 2000). 2017).
Animals such as poultry do not completely metabolize Antibiotic Resistance and the Need for Alterna-
antibiotics and still exist in their waste (Hribar, 2010). tives Antibiotic resistance in APEC strains isolated
One study tested antibiotic resistance of E. coli in fecal from several regions, including Asia, Africa, the United
samples of turkeys and broilers, in farms and slaugh- States, Brazil, and Spain reported .70% resistance to
terers, and found that there was significantly higher ampicillin, amoxicillin, and tetracycline. Resistance
(P , 0.005) antibiotic resistance to ciprofloxacin, flume- against ciprofloxacin, neomycin, and chloramphenicol
quine, and neomycin than laying hens that did not have was 50-70% (Nhung et al., 2017). As the public health
high antibiotic usage (Bogaard et al., 2001). A related concerns of antibiotic resistance and the resulting with-
study found a high prevalence of antibiotic resistance drawal of antibiotics from prophylactic uses started
but of S. aureus in turkey (79%; 22/28) and chicken happening in recent years, a dire need for alternative
(26%; 6/23) isolates. Antibiotic resistance is not strategies has sparked in the production animal in-
confined to poultry CAFOs but is a concern across in- dustry. Many researchers seek the potential of various
dustrial food animal production facilities. In 2007, natural and synthetic molecules in fighting bacterial
Sapkota et al. (2007) analyzed surface water samples infections, weighing their efficacy and cost-effectiveness
downstream of a swine CAFO and found significant on the scale. Probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics,
 MINIMIZING FIRST-WEEK MORTALITY IN CHICKS 9
postbiotics, organic acids, vaccinations, innate immune benefit to the host” (Bajagai et al., 2016). Several mi-
stimulation, and improving biosecurity are at the fore- croorganisms are being used as probiotics for poultry
front of these alternatives. Although these strategies species, such as bacterial and nonbacterial organisms.
may not have shown consistent efficiency throughout Some of the bacterial probiotics are several Lactobacillus
research, combinations of 2 or more approaches have species (Mookiah et al., 2014; Forte et al., 2018), Bifi-
exhibited proficiency (Caly et al., 2015; Postma et al., dobacterium (Khaksar et al., 2012; Pedroso et al., 2013),
2015; Suresh et al., 2017). Bacillus (Abdelqader et al., 2013), and Enterococcus
Antimicrobial resistance has drastically increased (Mountzouris et al., 2010). Yeast or fungal probiotics are
because of the global misuse and overuse of antibiotics added to feed such as Saccharomyces cervisiae
(Fletcher, 2015). This is prompted by the high preva- (Aluwong et al., 2013; Bai et al., 2013), Aspergillus
lence of foodborne zoonotic pathogens such as E. coli, oryzae (Daşkıran et al., 2012; Shim et al., 2012), Candida
Enterococcus spp., S. aureus, and nontyphoidal Salmo- pintolopsii (Daşkıran et al., 2012), and Saccharomyces
nella and Campylobacter spp. (Landoni and Albarellos, boulardii (Rajput et al., 2013) that caused positive ef-
2015; Abd El-Hack et al., 2021). Global monitoring fects on the performance and gut health.
epidemiology reported the resistance of E. coli and Sal- There are also certain adverse effects reported contra-
monella strains to ampicillin, chloramphenicol, and dictory to the positive effects (Philpot, 2015). However,
trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (Hendriksen et al., multiple reports depict the positive enteric health effects
2011). They also confirmed that the application of anti- of probiotics in improving intestinal integrity (Dalloul
microbials in food animals might lead to the develop- et al., 2003; Ritzi et al., 2014) and mentioning that
ment of resistant strains of bacteria, which propagates they could be a great alternative to antibiotics in the
to infect both animals and humans (Hendriksen et al., poultry industry (Nava et al., 2005; Li et al., 2014).
2011). According to Food and Agriculture Organization, pre-
Oguttu et al. (2008), on antimicrobial drug resistance biotics is defined as nondigestible food ingredients that
of E. coli isolated from poultry abattoir workers at risk benefit the host. They selectively stimulate the growth
and broilers, reported antimicrobial usage in food ani- and activity of bacteria in the colon and thereby improve
mals to be increasing and resulting in the development host health (Pineiro et al., 2008). They are supplying a
of antimicrobial drug–resistant bacteria. It has been sug- substrate for beneficial microorganisms in the gastroin-
gested that this resistant bacterial strain can be trans- testinal tract. Although the previous definition has
ferred to people working with such animals, for focused only on few carbohydrates, researchers have rede-
example, abattoir workers (Oguttu et al., 2008). fined prebiotics, including various oligosaccharides con-
Antimicrobial drug resistance was investigated for E. taining varying carbon lengths, and collectively
coli from broilers raised on feed supplemented with anti- designated them as nondigestible oligosaccharides.
microbials and the people who carry out evisceration, Different molecules such as fructooligosaccharides, galac-
washing, and packing of intestines in a high- tooligosaccharides, mannan oligosaccharides, inulin, and
throughput poultry abattoir. In addition to their specific isomaltooligosaccharide are among the nondigestible oli-
effects, edible tissues of poultry might contain veterinary gosaccharides that have beneficial properties as prebi-
drug residues, which would cause hazardous health ef- otics (Ferreira et al., 2011; Ricke, 2018; Alyileili et al.,
fects in humans, such as toxicological effects, hypersensi- 2020a,b). Reports suggested that certain nondigestible
tivity, allergic reactions, change of gut microflora, and oligosaccharides such as fructose oligosaccharides,
increased bacterial resistance to antimicrobials inulin-type fructans, and mannanoligosaccharides can
(Beyene, 2016). Serious concerns are raised on the anti- modulate gastrointestinal microbiota by increasing the
microbial resistance in zoonotic enteropathogens (Sal- Lactobacillus population while reducing harmful patho-
monella spp., Campylobacter spp.), commensal gens such as E. coli and Clostridium perfringens (Kim
bacteria (E. coli, enterococci), and bacterial pathogens et al., 2011; Pourabedin and Zhao, 2015). Alyileili et al.
of animals (Pasteurella, Actinobacillus spp.). (2020c) studied the application of nondegraded date
pits and degraded date pits using the cellulolytic fungus
Alternative Strategies to Antibiotics Trichoderma reesei as prebiotics in broiler’s diets on
the gut bacterial growth and growth performance. They
Since antibiotic use is diminishing because of concerns demonstrated that the supplementation of 10% of
such as the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, degraded date pits in broilers’ diet, partly replaced with
alternative strategies have become valuable in the con- dietary maize, served as a gut health enhancer and thus
trol of infections (El-Saadony et al., 2019, Abdelnour a growth promoter in the diet for broilers without the
et al., 2020a,b; Abd El-Hack et al., 2020a,b; Akl et al., use of antibiotics (Alyileili et al., 2020c).
2020; Ashour et al., 2020; El-Saadony et al., 2020a,b; Synbiotics are made by synergistically combining pro-
Reda et al., 2020; Sheiha et al., 2020). biotics and prebiotics to provide beneficial effects to the
Probiotics, Prebiotics, Synbiotics, and Post- host by promoting microbial feed supplements in the
biotics The Food and Agriculture Organization and gastrointestinal tract (Andersson et al., 2001). Studies
the World Health Organization collectively defined pro- have shown the beneficial effects of synbiotics on reducing
biotics as “live microorganisms that grant a health harmful bacteria such as Campylobacter jejuni (Baffoni
10 SWELUM ET AL.

et al., 2012) and Salmonella typhimurium (Revolledo Gregersen et al. (2010) conducted a study to test
et al., 2009). Markazi et al. (2018) recently reported breeder vaccination’s effect on broiler mortality and found
that drinking water with synbiotic supplementation no significant impact or benefit of this vaccine against col-
helps to influence a healthy microbiota and improved im- ibacillosis in the progeny. However, they found a signifi-
mune response in the intestines of laying hens during a cant effect of this vaccine on the breeders against E. coli
Salmonella challenge. The most recent review by Mic- infection. The introduction of the live attenuated commer-
ciche et al. also compiled study reports of synbiotics effect cial vaccine Poulvac E. coli, (Zoetis, Florham Park, NJ)
on improving gut health and weight gain other than has tempted poultry producers to begin using it because
reducing the harmful effects of Salmonella (Micciche of the reports of its protective effect (Galal et al., 2018).
et al., 2018). Markowiak and Slizewska (2018) published The current vaccine against colibacillosis in the market
a review in 2018, compiling most of the studies that comprises live attenuated E. coli EC34195 serotype O78
showed beneficial effects of synbiotic use in poultry birds with deleted aroA gene as the active substance (La
and other production animals rather than using probiot- Ragione et al., 2013). Researchers reported that the
ics or prebiotics alone. Depending on the probiotic and Enterobacteriaceae family members require aroA genes
prebiotic combination, the host’s immunomodulatory for the biosynthesis of aromatic amino acids to acquire
and microbiome modification effects can vary, as the full expression of virulence (Galal et al., 2018).
observed via in ovo delivery (Dunislawska et al., 2017). Thus, the deletion of the gene and adding the aromatic
An interesting study revealed that synbiotic treatment amino acids would result in sufficient bacterial growth on
during heat stress could act as an effective management minimal media to produce safe live-vaccine candidates
tool to minimize detrimental effects, particularly in hot (Hoiseth and Stocker, 1981). Studies revealed that coarse
regions of the world (Mohammed et al., 2018). spray vaccination of one-day-old chicks with this vaccine
A new term called postbiotics is recently introduced could protect birds against homologous and some heterol-
into the poultry industry, referring to the soluble factors ogous E. coli serotypes challenge (Filho et al., 2013; La
(products or metabolic byproducts) secreted by live bac- Ragione et al., 2013; Sadeyen et al., 2015). At the same
teria or released after bacterial lysis, such as enzymes, time, it was identified as safe (Mombarg et al., 2014).
peptides, teichoic acids, peptidoglycan-derived muro- Sadeghi et al. (2018) reported that this vaccine was effi-
peptides, polysaccharides, cell surface proteins, and cient against E. coli O78 and that the birds did not
organic acids. It is characterized by their clear chemical develop any lesions (Sadeghi et al., 2018).
structure, long shelf-life, safe usage, and dosage. Their Furthermore, it has been elucidated that APEC
properties including anti-inflammatory, immunomodu- dominates the immune response induced by the vac-
latory, antiobesogenic, antihypertensive, hypocholester- cine in the early stage, diminishing by the end of 7 d.
olemic, antiproliferative, hepatoprotective, and Cell-mediated immunity managed by CD
antioxidant led to the improvement of host health 41TCRVb11 on the mucosal surfaces producing
through enhancing several physiological functions immunoglobulin (IgA) and CD8 cells are hypothesized
(Aguilar-Toal
a et al., 2018). Postbiotics are mainly as the protective mechanisms of the vaccine-induced
derived from Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, Strepto- immune response (Filho et al., 2013). In Japan, a
coccus, and Faecalibacterium species (Konstantinov group of researchers reported that only the deletion
et al., 2013; Tsilingiri and Rescigno, 2013). of the aroA gene was insufficient to attenuate full viru-
Vaccines against E. coli Vaccination is a common lence. They reported the mutation of the crp gene of
strategy used in the control of most viral infections. O78 in APEC as the development of a live vaccine
However, several vaccines have been developed to pre- candidate (Nagano et al., 2012). They mentioned a
vent diseases caused by bacterial pathogens such as Sal- vaccine containing this bacterial strain had been mar-
monella, E. coli, Campylobacter, Pasteurella multocida keted in Japan since 2012. Their studies indicated that
(fowl cholera), Avibacterium paragallinarum (infectious with this vaccine, survival rate, and egg-laying rate
coryza), Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale, and Borde- improved in egg layers (Uotani et al., 2017). The third
tella avium in poultry birds (Desin et al., 2013; Filho commercially available vaccine is a live mutant called
et al., 2013). Although several vaccine candidates such Nisseiken Avian Colibacillosis Vaccine CBL (Nisseiken
as whole organism and subunit vaccines have been Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan). This vaccine comprises a
experimentally tested, the protective efficacies of these 107–109 colony-forming units/dose of AESN1331 O78
commercial vaccines against salmonellosis and col- APEC strain, which has a deleted crp gene. A study
ibacillosis have been minimally studied. by Abd El-Mawgoud et al. (2020) recorded the efficacy
Poultry researchers use different strategies from of this vaccine against homologous (O78) but not het-
generating autogenous vaccines to modified live, inacti- erologous (O125) APEC challenge.
vated, and subunit vaccines to help producers protect A recombinant multiantigen vaccine comprising a
against E. coli infections (Ghunaim et al., 2014). There combination of common EXPEC surface proteins has
are currently 3 commercially available vaccines against been recently reported to produce significant levels of
colibacillosis in the market; Nobilis E. coli (MSD Animal IgY against specific antigens and impose immune re-
Health, Summit, NJ) is an inactivated subunit vaccine sponses favorable for killing the bacteria. It has
consisting of fimbrial antigen F11 and a flagellar toxin reduced bacterial growth of multiple APEC serotypes,
(Gregersen et al., 2010; Mombarg et al., 2014). reduced bacterial load in organs, and reduced lesions
 MINIMIZING FIRST-WEEK MORTALITY IN CHICKS 11

Figure 3. Applications of bacteriophage in the poultry.

(Van Goor et al., 2017). They demonstrated increased trials have been conducted to evaluate the efficacy
IgA and IgY and reduced air sac lesions against homol- of using vaccination against E. coli infecting poultry.
ogous challenge using this vaccine (Ebrahimi-Nik However, several difficulties hindered such efforts,
et al., 2018). including the vaccine’s capability to induce cross-
Meanwhile, the careless use of antimicrobials in the protection against various APEC serogroups, vaccine
developing countries, and the difficulty of discovering mass delivery methods, and vaccination (Ghunaim
new antimicrobial therapies for resistant E. coli, led to et al., 2014). Generally, studies revealed that the inac-
the suggestion of using vaccines as the best choice to tivated vaccines protected homologous challenges only
control E. coli infections in poultry farms. Multiple (Roland et al., 2004). Meanwhile, research on live

Figure 4. Inflammatory response against avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) in chicken respiratory tract. After inhalation of contaminated
aerosol particles, APEC interacts with tracheal epithelial cells, where previous viral infection can facilitate APEC colonization.
12 SWELUM ET AL.

attenuated E. coli vaccines resulted in the production Antibacterial vaccines are part of this category,
of 2 commercial vaccines. Both vaccines are currently although they are not able to control all bacterial infec-
used in Egypt; however, their field efficacy against ho- tions because of their specificity to different bacterial
mologous and heterologous E. coli needs to be further agents. Nevertheless, the essence of immune-modulation
evaluated (Galal et al., 2018). Although subunit vac- is about modulating the host immune system or immune
cines demonstrated better immune response and bet- functions using the action of immuno-modulatory mole-
ter protection against homologous and heterologous cules such as toll-like receptor (TLR), ligands and ago-
challenges, large scale experiments are yet not nists, hyperimmune antibodies, bacteriophages
conducted. (Figure 3), probiotics, herbs, and essential oils (Lillehoj
Other Strategies In addition to the aforementioned and Lee, 2012). Out of the agents, TLR ligands and ag-
methods, poultry producers use various strategies to pre- onists have been widely studied as strategies to control
vent bacterial infections in farms. Biosecurity remains a infections owing to their potent immunogenicity as
vital measure that is typically underrated in the field. stand-alone immune stimulants as well as vaccine
Keeping strict biosecurity in segregation, traffic control, adjuvants.
cleaning, and disinfection, helps prevent a large propor- As opposed to vaccines, the other benefit of these
tion of harmful bacteria and viruses from entering TLR agonists is that they target the host rather than
poultry barns (Segal, 2013). Apart from good manage- the pathogen. It is improbable that their repeated use
ment practices, there are many alternative approaches would revert to any virulence or give rise to resistance
proposed and explored by researchers worldwide to (Mifsud et al., 2014). TLRs are a cluster of pattern
overcome bacterial infections in birds. While immuno- recognition receptors that recognize pathogen-
modulatory agents will be discussed separately in this associated molecular patterns that comprise the
article, it is worth brushing over the other strategies invading pathogenic organisms such as cell wall compo-
here. nents such as LPS, peptidoglycans, bacterial deoxyribo-
Bacteriophages and their lysins have been studies for a nucleic acid, and double-stranded viral ribonucleic acid
long time for their antibacterial effects as potential solu- (Kannaki et al., 2010). Synthetic counterparts of CpG-
tions (Figure 3). These viruses that specifically attack oligodeoxynucleotides, polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid,
bacteria are currently being recognized for their ability and other molecules are promising analogs that are
to prevent infections by pathogens such as E. coli, Sal- mostly being used in research as TLR agonists (Zhang
monella, and Campylobacter (Cheng et al., 2014). Huff et al., 2017).
et al. (2005) demonstrated that the administration of 2 Recognition of specific pathogen-associated molecu-
bacteriophages as an aerosol spray and an intramuscular lar patterns by the TLRs results in the activation of
injection reduced mortality significantly against E. coli signaling cascades leading to the expression of various
infection. However, owing to these phages’ obligatory innate immune responses (Figure 4) such as proin-
parasitic nature and their strict dependence on specific flammatory cytokine genes, reactive oxygen interme-
bacterial species, many precautions have to be taken diates, and nitrogen intermediates as reported by
during the phage preparation process. Despite the chal- Takeda and Akira (2005). Such immunomodulatory
lenges, phage therapy (Figure 3) has lots of potential properties (Figure 4) have been acknowledged to use
because of its natural presence, minimal harm, and the in vaccine production as antigens, adjuvants, and
ability to adjust to its host bacterium’s mutations direct immune stimulators to prevent or fight patho-
(Rios et al., 2016). genic infections (Ahmad-Nejad et al., 2002;
Several plant extracts have been identified with anti- Barjesteh et al., 2014). As we discussed using immu-
microbial properties and applied in poultry studies as al- nomodulatory molecules as alternatives to antibiotics,
ternatives to antibiotics (Cheng et al., 2014). it would be useful to review the organization of the
Phytobiotics or phytogenic compounds are divided into avian immune system to understand their mechanisms
several categories, such as herbs, spices, phenols, essen- of action.
tial oils, alkaloids, and lectins. Adding these to animal
diets has been identified to improve the quality of the an-
imals’ lives and the food derived from them (Windisch CONCLUSIONS
et al., 2008). Essential oils such as oregano, rosemary,
and lavender oil used in broiler trials have shown effi- In conclusion, minimizing bacterial infections, espe-
cient antimicrobial activity (Mathlouthi et al., 2012; cially E. coli, during the first week of age in chicks is
Yang et al., 2015; Adaszy
nska-Skwirzy
nska and very critical. This will help to obtain high performance
Szczerbi
nska, 2018). of broiler chickens (body weight, weight gain, homogene-
ity of the bird’s weight, immune response to vaccination
as well as meat quality) and consequently increasing the
Immune Modulation as an Alternative to profitability. Different strategies should be used for
Antibiotics decreasing mortality during the first week of life. The
biosecurity, selection of good quality chicks, and immune
Various immuno-modulatory strategies are hot topics modulation remain as the main factors to achieve the
as alternatives to antibiotics in food animal production. best results.
 MINIMIZING FIRST-WEEK MORTALITY IN CHICKS 13

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS surveillance in broiler chicken flocks in Canada, 2013-2015. PLoS

One 12:e0179384.
The authors extend their appreciation to the Deputy- Ahmad-Nejad, P., H. H€acker, M. Rutz, S. Bauer, R. M. Vabulas, and
H. Wagner. 2002. Bacterial CpG-DNA and lipopolysaccharides
ship for Research & Innovation, “Ministry of Education” activate Toll-like receptors at distinct cellular compartments. Eur.
in Saudi Arabia for funding this research work through J. Immunol. 32:1958–1968.
the project number IFKSURP-327. Akl, B. A., M. M. Nader, and M. T. El-Saadony. 2020. Biosynthesis of
silver nanoparticles by Serratia marcescens ssp sakuensis and its
antibacterial application against some pathogenic bacteria. J.
DISCLOSURES Agric. Chem. Biotech. Mansoura Univ. 11:1–8.
Aluwong, T., M. Kawu, M. Raji, T. Dzenda, F. Govwang, V. Sinkalu,
Authors declare no conflict of interests. and J. Ayo. 2013. Effect of yeast probiotic on growth, antioxidant
enzyme activities and malondialdehyde concentration of broiler
chickens. Antioxidants 2:326–339.
Alyileili, S. R., I. E. H. Belal, A. S. Hussein, and K. A. El-
SUPPLEMENTARY DATA Tarabily. 2020c. Effect of inclusion of degraded and non-degraded
date pits in broilers’ diet on their intestinal microbiota and growth
Supplementary data associated with this article can performance. Animals 10:2041.
be found in the online version at https://doi.org/10.1 Alyileili, S. R., K. A. El-Tarabily, I. E. H. Belal, W. H. Ibrahim,
016/j.psj.2021.101039. M. Sulaiman, and A. S. Hussein. 2020a. Effect of Trichoderma
reesei degraded date pits on antioxidant enzyme activities and
biochemical responses of broiler chickens. Front. Vet. Sci. 7:338.
Alyileili, S. R., K. A. El-Tarabily, I. E. H, Belal, W. H. Ibrahim,
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