Antibiotic reduction in broilers

In a 2016 report outlining rising drug resistance, Lord Jim O’Neill estimated that deaths from AMR could balloon to 10 million a year by 2050, at a global economic cost of 100 trillion USD. As such, many countries decided to reduce the use of antibiotics in poultry production. The United Nations and other non-governmental organisations created a framework to combine reduction efforts in animal health, human health, and the environment, namely the One Health approach. This covers animal health actions, such as training for farmers, vets, technicians, and others.

Reducing antibiotic usage must be global, embracing farm management, nutrition, and feed strategies to reduce stress in birds that can induce the diseases which were previously treated with antibiotics. There are 2 classes of antibiotics: the ones used as growth promoters (AGPs) and others used to prevent diseases or cure sick birds.

AGPs are used for their anti-inflammatory rather than antibiotic effect. Used at sub-therapeutic dose levels, below Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC), they can still work in the presence of widespread bacterial resistance (E.G. tetracyclines). For this reason, their mode of action is more complex than that of antibiotics. Accumulation of AGPs in inflammatory cells, and their capacity to inhibit cell functions, explains their anti-inflammatory effect. They can reduce chronic gut inflammation in fast-growing broilers, which can save energy and reduce feed conversion rates.

Safmannan^® is a good candidate as an alternative to AGPs. Its mode of action may be related to the interaction with immune receptors (Dectin-1 and TLR2) and the modulation of the NF-kB response.