Antibiotic alternatives to prevent necrotic enteritis

Necrotic enteritis (NE) in either clinical or subclinical form is a major enteric poultry disease that has a detrimental effect on profitability in the broiler industry. A survey by Van der Sluis (2000) estimated that the cost of subclinical NE can be as high as 5 cents per bird and NE outbreaks have the potential to cost the global broiler industry approximately $2 billion per year.

Moreover, Timbermont et al. (2011) estimated the annual cost of NE to the global poultry industry is approximately $6 billion, which included the cost of output losses and control steps.

The following antibacterial drugs, were used for the NE treatment:

• avoparcin,
• lincomycin,
• amoxicillin,
• tylosin,
• virginiamycin, and
• bacitracin

However, after observing the effects of Antibiotic growth promoters (AGPs) on the development and expansion of drug-resistant bacteria, people started to understand its potential threat, and there was increased pressure to decrease antimicrobial use in poultry production.

In the broiler meat industry, the removal of AGPs from commercial farms dramatically increased the incidence of economically important diseases, such as NE.

INTERVENTION STRATEGIES FOR NE

The prevention and control principles of NE are mainly based on:

• biosecurity,
• sanitation,
• flock management,
• antimicrobial use, and
• prevention of predisposing factor

Alternative Strategies for the Control of NE

Generally, microbial infections harm poultry productivity by colonizing the digestive tract and affecting the final BW, intestinal health, and meat quality of broiler chickens. Antibiotics effectively repress and inhibit microorganisms until antibiotic-resistant bacteria appear. The tendency to use organic antibiotic alternatives or alternative eco-friendly compounds solves this problem such as:

• phenolic compounds in herbal extracts,
• prebiotics,
• probiotics,
• essential
  
  
  
  
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