A global campaign to reduce the use of antibiotics is being carried out in livestock production, and more and more farmers and farms are verifying that, as long as critical attention is placed on gut health, it can be based on performance and health without sacrificing animal performance. Reduce the use of antibiotics. Author: Dr. Anna Kai • Selena • Berger Veterinary Consultation BVBA Antibiotics have been widely used in history to solve the intestinal health problems of piglets. A major challenge today is to find alternatives to antibiotics to ensure intestinal health during the developmental stages of piglets. The goal of reducing the use of antibiotics should be corrected, and instead we must pursue a healthy production system to ensure the health of the animal at all stages of growth. Production is not used to treat sick pigs - it is used for sub-optimal production systems. Therefore, the first step in any antibiotic regimen is to optimize the overall health of the production system, making systemic preventive use a top priority. Doing so will not lead to increased disease and decreased productivity; on the contrary, productivity is most likely to increase, and reductions in antibiotic spending can be invested in other areas to optimize overall welfare and health of pigs. This article will discuss how gut health is a key feature of system health, immunity, and performance, and to illustrate some examples of how focusing on gut health can greatly reduce antibiotic use. Gut Health and Immunity Gut health is the key to animal health, and animal production is increasingly emphasizing the importance of optimizing gut health. According to Kogut and Arsenault (2016), healthy gut is defined as the lack, prevention and/or avoidance of disease, enabling animals to exert their physiological functions to resist exogenous and endogenous stress. Healthy gut involves many physiological and functional components, including digestion and absorption of nutrients, host metabolism, energy production, balanced gut microbiota, mucus layer, barrier function, and mucosal immunity. Therefore, a healthy intestine is not only an intestinal tract without disease; a healthy intestinal tract is an effective digestive organ that can easily cope with changes and effectively prevent and treat diseases. The intestine is one of the largest organs and has the widest exposed surface in the body. The surface is a selective barrier to the physical, chemical, immunological and microbial parts where water and feed are digested and absorbed, but the causative agent should also be controlled here. The gut is also the organ with the most immune cells in the body (about 70%), many of which are located in the gut-associated lymphoid tissue (lymph node). These immune cells are the first line of defense against pathogens, and most immune cells are found in the large intestine. Immunity, as defined by the Webster's Dictionary, is "a condition that is resistant to a particular disease, particularly by preventing the evolution and development of pathogenic microorganisms or by offsetting the effects of their pathogenic products." Immunity is the internal defense of the body against the "enemy." People can think about the intestines in a simple form, in which the intestinal cells and the mucous barrier form a wall, the immune tissue acts like a warrior, the immune cells are infantry, and there are several ports where food can enter the "fortress", but only Authorized personnel can enter (nutrition absorption). Enemies are viruses, bacteria and protozoa, sometimes using toxic weapons, such as bacterial toxins, or helping mycotoxins to break down the "fortress." The commensal gut microbiota is an "alliance" outside the "fortress" that prevents enemies from invading and preventing enemies from attacking the walls. Obviously, this defense mechanism is complex, takes time to build, and can be destroyed by many factors. Create a healthy intestinal Establishing and maintaining good intestinal function is critical to reducing piglet morbidity and mortality. After the piglet is born, the intestine needs to be digested immediately and effectively absorb nutrients for its growth. From digestion and absorption to barrier function and development of the immune system, piglet nutrition is a key factor in establishing normal intestinal function. There is a single layer of epithelium that is responsible for the secretion of fluids and the absorption of water, electrolytes and nutrients, providing a selective barrier to the complex and potentially dangerous environment of the intestinal lumen. The intestinal epithelium is often exposed to many symbiotic pathogenic microorganisms and antigens essential for immune development. Allowing piglets to eat colostrum during the first 24 hours of life is essential for intestinal development, which provides antibodies that protect piglets, and their own immunity (antibody defense) is developing, while digestive enzymes in the intestine are given priority. Used to digest colostrum. It is important to ensure that sows produce enough high quality colostrum to feed their pups, which is a huge challenge for super high-yielding sow breeds because they often produce colostrum that is not sufficient to supply all piglets. It is particularly noteworthy to provide colostrum for all piglets. For example, separate breastfeeding has become an important preventive health measure in many high-yielding herds to address colostrum secretion and the number of live piglets. In the delivery room, pay special attention to environmental sanitation, because diarrhea can cause great problems. Weaning stress is one of the most common and devastating problems in pig production, and this is why we need antibiotics to protect the intestinal and immune systems of piglets. An important issue in our production system is to increase sow production performance, shorten its lactation period, and allow newborn piglets to wean in three to four weeks or even earlier. The development and maturation of piglets' intestines takes longer, and the immature gut and immune system caused by this early weaning increases the risk of disease after weaning. At this point in time, the digestive enzymes of the piglets still mainly digest the colostrum; the immunity from the colostrum has decreased, but the immune system of the piglets themselves is not mature. Weaning stress leads to a reduction in feed intake, which poses multiple challenges to the already stressed gut, which is post-weaning diarrhea. Studies have shown that weight gain in the first week after weaning is associated with time to market. Therefore, it is important to assess the performance of piglets after weaning, as no diarrhea does not necessarily mean that the piglets are healthy and perform well. In a healthy production system, do everything possible to prepare piglets as soon as possible in the delivery room. Weaning. Birth weight, colostrum intake, milk production, intestinal diseases, and feed intake are important factors influencing weaning performance. When weaning, minimize the effects of stress such as early weaning, transportation, mixed group, large weaning group, diet, poor air quality and unsanitary conditions. In addition, when looking for alternatives to antibiotics such as zinc oxide to reduce feed additives for weaned pigs, producers need to treat antibiotic replacement systems and management solutions in an open manner to achieve future productivity. Pathogen The presence of pathogenic microorganisms in the gut is not sufficient to cause disease. Once the pathogen ("enemy") breaks through the intestinal defense line (fortress wall and defensive structure), the disease will occur. At least 16 different pathogens, including bacteria, viruses and parasites, can cause primary bowel disease. Terascale microbes live in the intestines, forming a complex ecosystem that, in addition to affecting host health, can also affect the immune system inside and outside the gut. When this symbiotic microbial community is disturbed in the intestines of pigs, ecological imbalances or flora disturbances occur, which means that there is an imbalance or incompatibility between the beneficial microbiota and the potentially pathogenic organisms. Therefore, this imbalance makes pathogens more susceptible to damage to intestinal structure and function. Any change in the diet will result in changes in the microbial community. But if the diet is slowly changed, the gut will have the ability to regulate the microbial community to adapt to change. A healthy microbiota can withstand certain changes in the diet; however, the pig's stomach and its microflora are still developing, which makes its adaptability greatly reduced, leading to ecological disorders and diseases. Probiotics, probiotics and mannose oligosaccharides help the intestinal adaptation to reduce imbalances. Often, viral pathogens pave the way for bacterial pathogens by destroying a portion of the weak defense system in the host's gut. Good internal and external biosafety and vaccination programs are critical to minimizing the impact of the virus. Coccidiosis is a small intestinal parasitic disease that replicates on the intestinal cell wall and causes diarrhea in piglets. This parasite also reduces the defense of the "fortress" against bacteria. Most countries do not care about the use of anti-coccidial agents in pig production. It is hoped that there will be more use of coccidiostats in the academic community and in the industry to protect the intestinal structure. The delivery room requires a high level of hygiene to minimize exposure of the piglets to coccidia. Mycotoxins Mycotoxins are toxins produced by molds that can cause serious health problems in pig production and cause huge economic losses to the world. More than 400 known mycotoxins have different toxic effects, and the diversity of toxins in the feed complicates the problem. Due to current climatic conditions and production systems for long feed distribution chains, mycotoxins in feed and culture systems are at great risk. However, it is difficult to assess the impact of these subclinical immunosuppressants or subclinical disease factors, so many producers fail to take appropriate precautions in terms of feed storage, feed sources, and feed mycotoxin adsorbents. Intestinal cells are cells that are first exposed to mycotoxins, and the mycotoxin concentration in the intestinal portion is usually higher than in other tissues. Mycotoxins have specific targeting effects on cells with high protein turnover and protein activation such as intestinal epithelial cells. For example, deoxynivalenol (DON) is one of the most common toxic cereal contaminants. Even if it is low in the feed, it can cause damage to the intestines. Once ingested, DON will target the gastrointestinal epithelial cells and destroy it as the first line of defense against intestinal health. Toxic destruction of the intestinal barrier function increases intestinal permeability and impairs the absorption of nutrients. In addition, it can destroy intestinal immunity, thereby helping the survival and development of pathogens in the gut, which leads to further inflammation of the intestinal tract and intestinal barrier. In order to improve the overall health of the herd, appropriate measures are needed to minimize exposure of the pig to mycotoxins. Reducing the program The Alltech Resiliency Program aims to create healthy pigs and reduce the use of preventive and therapeutic antibiotics. The program can help farmers develop action plans. Alltech's plan focuses on gut health, thereby stopping the use of prophylactic or therapeutic antibiotics in the feed. Various feed additives and nutritional solutions are important tools for maintaining gut health in pig production, but the mere use of these additives is not sufficient for a healthy production system. Many times, we also need to update measures such as management procedures and resource allocation. The program is for farmers who are interested and able to take steps to achieve higher levels of health in their herds. Farmers are guided by a group of enthusiastic, dedicated and competent industry consultants, veterinarians, nutritionists and other experts (such as construction engineers) to help update the revisions after decades of prophylactic antibiotic use. Auditing to determine baseline status and regular inspection monitoring progress is important to maintain momentum and reassess program improvements and goals. The team evaluates the shortcomings and advantages of the production system and develops an action plan. In order to maintain enthusiasm and steady progress, the system will benchmark peers and set objective and clear goals. In addition to gut health and nutrition, the Alltech Resilience Program audit also includes performance, pig welfare, pig respiratory health, reproductive performance, management, livestock houses, antibiotic use, biosafety and cost-effectiveness of production. . Recommendations include nutrition solutions, management, antibiotic use strategies, biosecurity measures, reproductive performance and productivity goals to optimize pig health at all stages of production. Silica Matting Agent For Wood Coatings Silica Matting Agent For Wood Coatings ,Paint Silica Matting Agent,Precipitated Silica Matt Powder,Aerogel Matting Agent Guangzhou Quanxu Technology Co Ltd , https://www.skychema.com
Gut health is the key to reducing the use of antibiotics