AVIGUARD, a powerful tool to help maintain poultry health

Health authorities are increasingly concerned about the contribution of animal production systems in clinical cases of human health contamination or antibiotic resistance. Poultry, the world’s leading animal production system for meat and egg production, is, therefore, a key sector to be targeted for demedication approaches in animal husbandry. Reducing the prevalence of pathogens in animals by maintaining intestinal health and a balanced digestive microbiota is one of the most effective ways to address this issue.

In this context, the concept of competitive exclusion (CE) is of growing interest, not only from the poultry industry but also from the scientific community. Numerous articles on this topic have been published in peer-reviewed journals during the last five years.

AVIGUARD, composed of the normal gut flora from healthy adult birds, is a leading CE product allowing efficient installation or restoration of healthy gut flora to help protect poultry (e.g. broilers, turkeys, laying hens, breeding hens, and game) against pathogens found in poultry production, such as:

• Salmonella
• Pathogenic avian Coli
• Clostridium perfringens, which is responsible for necrotic enteritis

AVIGUARD’s microflora acts according to three modes of action corresponding to three levels of exclusion:

1. Competition for nutrients, which helps reduce the development of undesired microorganisms;
2. Competition for sites of attachment at the intestinal epithelium level, preventing undesired bacteria from attaching to the mucosa;
3. Production of antagonist substances.

The effectiveness of AVIGUARD,  applied at an early age as close as possible to the hatch, has been known for decades and is widely documented in independent publications.

Key scientific articles have been compiled in a bibliographic review to contribute to the development of AVIGUARD and meet the expectations of our partners. This review can be used to explain the CE concept and product to current users or future customers of AVIGUARD. Trial results are also included to show AVIGUARD’s high potential for maintaining poultry healthy, right from the start of the rearing phase, to allow animals to develop optimally and better resist rearing stress.

AVIGUARD research bibliography is available on request through your Lallemand Animal Nutrition contact.