General analysis
Problems related to the importation of raw materials continue to affect countries globally, causing feed to be more expensive. Many producers choose to use poor quality materials, either to lower the cost of feed or due to lack of other options.
This practice leads to an increase in mycotoxin-related problems and microbial contamination of feed by fungi and bacteria. It also leads to a decrease in productive performance since diets made with poor quality ingredients do not adequately meet the requirements of the animals.
In the Northern hemisphere, low temperatures have led to an increase in viral diseases outbreaks such as infectious bronchitis and influenza. In the Southern hemisphere, laying hens have egg quality problems related either to high temperatures, dietary deficiencies, or digestive problems.
In the pig sector, there is interest in the control of problems caused by Actinobacillus lignieresii, the prevention of digestive and foot problems due to biotin deficiency and the diagnosis of respiratory diseases by examining the lung lesion score in the slaughter plant.
Analysis by geographic areas
In the month of February 2022, the following problems were reported according to the geographical region:
· Asia
Influenza and adenovirus outbreaks have been reported in broiler farms in Southeast Asia. Coccidiosis is also one of the most prevalent diseases in the continent.
In pig farms, the advance of African swine fever is particularly concerning, as it is gaining ground and still present in the countries that were affected during the previous months.
· Europe
In Eastern Europe, adenovirus and avian infectious bronchitis outbreaks, two viral diseases that take advantage of low temperatures to cause infections in birds, have been observed. Cases of haemorrhagic typhlitis due to Eimeria tenella, which causes inflammation of the ceca with haemorrhagic-necrotic content and haemorrhagic diarrhea, have also been reported. Another bacterium that causes problems in European broiler farms is Enterococcus gallinarum.
Rapid transit is another issue that worries poultry producers and Histomonas meleagridis is a main concern for turkey farmers.
Feed and cereals’ mycotoxin contamination is a common problem, especially high levels of deoxynivalenol, ochratoxins, T2 toxin and aflatoxins. In addition, most of the analysed samples have mixed contaminations, which poses an additional risk to animals due to the synergistic effect of mycotoxins.
· Latin America
In South America, broiler and laying farms affected by infectious toxic hepatoenteritis continue to be reported, where day-old chicks show omphalitis, green and large vitellus and ceca, and a greenish content in the gizzard.
Vaccine failures in layers are a common problem, which may be related to the high prevalence of avian infectious bronchitis. Some strains produce kidney lesions in layers.
The mycotoxins with the highest levels are deoxynivalenol and fumonisin, which have been detected in samples of corn, bran and feed.
· Africa
The problems observed in poultry farms in West Africa are related to the high temperatures and poor feed quality, two factors that lead to internal and external egg quality problems.
The mycotoxins that have higher levels in raw materials and feed are aflatoxins, which cause the affected animals to bleed.
