Abstract of research

Concurrent use of ciprofloxacin and metronidazole for controlling of some bacterial infections in broiler chickens

Sayed A. Abdel Ziz, Sabry M.A. Abdel Motaal, Osama E. Abd-Allah and Marwa M.I. Sarhan

Abstract

This study was carried out to investigate the efficacy of ciprofloxacin (8 mg/kg b.wt.) and/or metronidazole (30 mg/kg. b.wt.) in drinking water for 5 successive days for treatment of E. coli and/or Cl. perfringens each alone or both. Blood and tissue samples were collected from 5 birds from each group on the 5th, 12th and 19th days post-infection and treatment. This was done through studying the effect on growth Performance (body weight, weight gain, feed consumption and feed conversion rate), lesion score, mortality rate, some liver and kidney function parameters and some blood picture parameters. Infection with E. coli and/or Cl. perfringens induced the characteristic symptoms and lesions of the disease infection with E. coli induced mortality rate up to 20% which is reduced to 5% post- treatment with ciprofloxacin whereas, Cl. perfringens infection induced mortality up to 35% which is reduced to 12% post-treatment with metronidazole. Mixed infection with E. coli and Cl. perfringens induced 75% mortality which is reduced to 20% post-treatment with both drugs. Infection with E. coli and/or Cl. perfringens each alone or mixed together afforded a significant decrease in body weight, weight gain, feed consumption and increased feed conversion compared with normal control group. Whereas, treatment of infected birds with both drugs elicited a significant increase in body weight, feed consumption and significant decrease in feed conversion rate compared with infected non-treated groups. On blood picture infection with E. coli and Cl. perfringens or their mixed infection induced a significant decrease in total RBCs count, Hb % and PCV% whereas, treatment of infected birds with each drug alone or their combination induced a significant increase in the previous parameters along the course of the study compared with infected non-treated groups. Serum Aspartate aminotransferase (AST), Alanine aminotransferase (ALT), Alkaline phosphatase (ALP), uric acid and creatinine were significantly elevated in response to infection with each microbe alone or their combination compared with normal control group. Treatment of infected birds with each drug alone or their combination elicited a significant decrease in the previous parameters along entire period of the study compared with the infected non-treated groups. Taken together, our data could be framed within the view of the revealing high efficacy of metronidazole and ciprofloxacin toward infection with clostridium and /or E. coli in poultry.