Immune Parameters in Chickens Treated with Antibiotics and Probiotics during Early Life
Jan Jankowski,
Bartłomiej Tykałowski,
Anna Stępniowska,
Paweł Konieczka,
Andrzej Koncicki,
Paulius Matusevičius,
Katarzyna Ognik
Affiliations
Jan Jankowski
Department of Poultry Science and Apiculture, Faculty of Animal Bioengineering, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Oczapowskiego 5, 10-719 Olsztyn, Poland
Bartłomiej Tykałowski
Department of Poultry Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Warmia and Mazury, Oczapowskiego 13, 10-719 Olsztyn, Poland
Anna Stępniowska
Department of Biochemistry and Toxicology, Faculty of Animal Science and Bioeconomy, University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Akademicka 13, 20-950 Lublin, Poland
Paweł Konieczka
Department of Poultry Science and Apiculture, Faculty of Animal Bioengineering, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Oczapowskiego 5, 10-719 Olsztyn, Poland
Andrzej Koncicki
Department of Poultry Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Warmia and Mazury, Oczapowskiego 13, 10-719 Olsztyn, Poland
Paulius Matusevičius
Department of Animal Nutrition, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Tilzes 18, LT-47181 Kaunas, Lithuania
Katarzyna Ognik
Department of Biochemistry and Toxicology, Faculty of Animal Science and Bioeconomy, University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Akademicka 13, 20-950 Lublin, Poland
The aim of the study was to compare the effect of the administration of antibiotics or probiotics on chickens in their first week of life, on selected parameters of humoral and cellular immunity, and on the bursa of Fabricius and spleen indices. The experiment was carried out on 90 one-day-old male broilers. The control group received no additive in the drinking water; the group GP received a probiotic providing Enterococcus faecium and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens; and the group GA received 10% enrofloxacin in the drinking water on the first five days of life. Administration of the antibiotic enrofloxacin or a probiotic containing E. faecium and B. amyloliquefaciens strains to chickens in their first week of life exerts pronounced immunomodulatory effects on humoral and cellular defense mechanisms in these birds. The changes in the subpopulations of B and T cells immediately following early administration of enrofloxacin or the probiotic were not observed at the age of 35 days. Early administration of enrofloxacin can pose a risk of suppression of humoral immunity, as indicated by the significant decrease in the total IgY concentration in the plasma of the chickens.
