(825.8) Results of using probiotic based on Enterococcus Faecium L-3 strain for enteritis of calves

Poster Board Number: D8

Anastasia Nikitina (Saint-Petersburg State University of Veterinary Medicine), Maxim Lebedev (Saint-Petersburg State University of Veterinary Medicine), Sergey Kovalev (Saint-Petersburg State University of Veterinary Medicine), Vyacheslav Trushkin (Saint-Petersburg State University of Veterinary Medicine), Georgy Nikitin (Saint-Petersburg State University of Veterinary Medicine)

Diseases of the digestive system of calves, including enteritis, are an urgent problem in dairy farming. The disease occurs under the influence of various causes and often has a mixed etiology.The use of veterinary bacterial drugs today has found its application in preventing and treating many animal diseases.At the same time, valuable microorganisms of the digestive system of animals - lactic acid and bifidobacteria, play the role of an immunomodulator by synthesizing their antibiotic substances that stimulate the work of the organisms defenses.Thus, in the prevention and treatment of enteritis in calves, it is essential to use new effective probiotic drugs, taking into account their effect on the microflora of the digestive tract of calves.Two groups of black-and-white calves were formed: experimental (G1, n=20) and control (GC, n=20). The selection of animals was carried out according to the principle of analogs.Calves from the G1 were given a probiotic based on the Enterococcus Faecium L-3 strain from birth to 45 days of age, 0.5 g with feed once a day. The probiotic was not fed to the calves of the GC.The tendency towards an increased level of bactericidal (BAS) and lysozyme activity (LAS) of serum was revealed in the calves of G1. Thus, at 14 days of age, the level of BAS in calves receiving the probiotic was significantly higher by 27% (P lt;0.05), and LAS by 21% (P lt;0.05) than in calves from the GC. This result was also noted at 30 and 45 days of age.BAS was significantly higher by the 30th day of life in the G1 (P lt;0.05) than in GC: 13.12 ± 1.95% and 9.68 ± 0.60%, respectively. The LAS level was significantly higher (P lt;0.01) in calves from G1 by 26% than in animals of the GC: 5.8 ± 0.43% and 4.3 ± 0.20%, respectively. At 45 days of age in animals of theG1, the level of BAS was significantly (P lt;0.001) higher by 61%, and LAS by 34% (P lt;0.001) than in GC.In the study of the intestinal microflora, it was noted that the calves of the GC had a significantly higher amount of total bacterial mass, Escherichia coli and Bacteroides fragilis group, which indicates the development of opportunistic microflora.Thus, regular feeding of a probiotic based on the Enterococcus Faecium L-3 strain to calves of the early postnatal period contributes to better resistance to gastrointestinal disorders and indicators of nonspecific body defense, creating favorable conditions for the development of representatives of normal flora and limiting the growth of opportunistic microflora.