Promising Solutions for Poultry Disease
ARS scientists in Peoria, IL and Beltsville, MD, are helping poultry farmers tackle a devastating disease. In collaboration with the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, researchers are developing a novel approach to controlling a widespread disease in poultry -- Necrotic enteritis. This disease is often a fatal gastrointestinal condition in poultry, costing about $6 billion in industry losses worldwide.
Researchers discovered a naturally occurring enzyme, or protein, which can target and eliminate about 99.99% of the harmful bacteria in poultry gut contents that cause Necrotic enteritis. These promising results suggests that incorporating this novel enzyme into chicken feed may be an effective strategy to control the devastating disease. This method will also reduce the poultry industry’s dependency on antibiotics.
