The inactivated infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) vaccine used as booster in layer hens influences the breadth of protection against challenge with IBV variants.

To achieve long term protection of laying and breeding hens against aberrant egg production caused by infectious bronchitis virus (IBV), a vaccination programme incorporating both live-attenuated and inactivated IBV vaccines is required. High quality IBV vaccines of both types are widely available, but the number of IBV variants of global importance continues to increase and it is not possible to develop vaccines against each one of them. Therefore, it is desirable to perform studies under controlled conditions to determine which IBV vaccine(s) provide the best protection for laying hens against different IBV challenges.

Production losses in laying hens during infestation with the poultry red mite .

A research centre with 30,568 laying hens, kept in enriched cages and in aviaries, had become naturally infested with poultry red mites (PRM) in 32 of its 48 bird units. Therefore, at the age of 52 weeks all hens were treated with fluralaner through the drinking water. After this treatment, PRM were no longer observed.

Effect of a Drinking Water Conditioner on Stability and Efficacy of Fluralaner in Laying Hens Infested with Poultry Red Mites.

Concurrent use of a colorant during drinking water treatment could contribute to the correct application of fluralaner to poultry. The present studies therefore examined whether the blue-colored drinking water conditioner Vac-Safe has an influence on the stability of fluralaner in water and/or on its efficacy for the control of poultry red mites (PRM). Laboratory trials showed that fluralaner dissolved at various concentrations in water conditioned with Vac-Safe retained full stability for at least 27 hr at temperatures up to 40 C.

Improved Performance of Broilers and Broiler Breeders Associated with an Amended Vaccination Program Against Reovirosis.

A vertically integrated monitoring program was set up for breeders hatched in 2013 and their offspring to detect differences in performance related to the reovirus vaccination schedule. Within the same organization in Belgium, 17 breeder flocks were vaccinated with one dose of live and one dose of inactivated reovirus vaccine, while 14 flocks received two doses of inactivated vaccine without live priming. The hatchability of the eggs produced by these birds was examined.

Improved broiler performance associated with Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale vaccination in breeders.

During a field study in 2010 the daily growth, feed conversion, first-week mortality, broiler loss due to mortality and slaughterhouse condemnation, and production index were monitored in 100 broiler flocks derived from four breeder farms vaccinated with Nobilis OR inac and four Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale-unvaccinated breeder farms of the same organization in Belgium. Other parameters related to the broiler flocks, such as flock size, season, age of the breeders, and corresponding breeder farms, were also noted. All gathered data were examined with ANOVA, linear correlation, and linear regression analyses.

Pathogenesis of infections with Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Muenchen in the turtle Trachemys scripta scripta.

The pathogenesis of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Muenchen infections in the aquatic turtle Trachemys scripta scripta was studied. After oral infection with 5x10(5)cfu of serovar Muenchen of 10-14-month-old turtles, kept at 26 degrees C, the intestine and especially the ileum, caecum and colon was colonized.

Ultrastructure of surface components of Streptococcus gallolytics (S. bovis) strains of differing virulence isolated from pigeons.

Virulence of Streptococcus gallolyticus (S. bovis) strains isolated from pigeons is associated with the presence of the extracellular proteins A, T1, T2 and T3. Based on the presence or absence of these proteins, six supernatant-phenotypes are distinguished.