Grant: Collaborative Research and Development Grants

Bacterial infections of hatching eggs, chicks and poults are responsible for significant poultry welfare concerns and economic losses at key stages of poultry production. For hatcheries, severely infected eggs can explode, resulting in contamination of the entire hatcher, and increasing infection rates among emerging chicks. Infections can be treated with antibiotics; however, with increasing antibiotic resistance and the poultry industry's commitment to reducing antibiotic use, alternative strategies are needed to reduce these infections and poultry losses. The objective of this research is to develop an effective, inexpensive, non-toxic bacterial disinfectant, in collaboration with Canadian Hatching Egg Producers (CHEP), which would target poultry-related pathogens on eggs and in the surrounding environment before they can establish infections. This would reduce significantly the need for administering antibiotics to chickens and enhance bird well-being. This objective will be achieved by screening our newly discovered antibacterial compounds against a wide range of bacteria to identify candidates that will work on a variety of surfaces, and under the widest range of environmental conditions. We will also assess toxicity of the candidate disinfectants and their breakdown products on fertilized eggs to ensure that they are safe for embryos. One of the main advantages of our proposed class of disinfectant is that it breaks down in the environment. This means that bacteria are less likely to develop resistance to it, such that it would provide a longer term solution to addressing bacterial infections in hatcheries. Development of resistance is an ongoing issue with currently used disinfectants. Reducing the incidence of infection will greatly reduce economic losses for producers and improve bird welfare, providing significant benefits to the Canadian poultry industry, and to the Canadian economy.