Comparison of the effectiveness of bacteriophages with antibiotics in rearing broiler chickens

The results of the study showed that the efficiency of growing chickens with the use of phages is comparable to the use of antibiotics, but feeding with "Phagovet" contributes to greater stability of broiler production.

Antibiotics are the main treatment and prevention of bacterial diseases of birds worldwide, and there is no coordinated approach to monitoring their use, which is a global problem for both animals and humans.

Intensive use of preparations and their rotation within one cycle of rearing broiler chickens often lead to the accumulation of residual amounts of active substances in the body of poultry and finished products (meat), and also contribute to the development of bacterial resistance to antibiotics.

In Russia, Escherichia coli bacteria identified from chicken isolates show even higher resistance to critical drugs than in other countries (up to 88% for some drugs, such as ciprofloxacin). A similar situation is observed with other bacteria common in poultry production. One of the solutions to the problem of resistance may be the transition to alternative methods of etiotropic therapy, including the use of bacteriophages.

Specifically to control the health of poultry, RPC "Micromir" has developed the drug "Phagovet" - in 2023 it was registered as a drug for veterinary use. Now the results of the use of the drug in real production conditions and a comparison of its effectiveness with antibiotics are available. The work was published in the journal "Poultry Farming".

The study was carried out at a large poultry farm in the South-Western District of Russia as part of three rounds from December 2021 to March 2022. The first were fed with Phagovet throughout the entire period of rearing, the control groups were given antibiotics in accordance with the instructions approved at the poultry farm, after confirming the diagnosis.

The effectiveness of the drugs was evaluated by such indicators as preservation, live weight, average daily gain, feed conversion and the European productivity index.