Department of Agriculture

AGRICULTURAL TRAINING INSTITUTE

Elliptical Rd., Diliman, Quezon City
 Disease Pr Preevention and Contr
Controlol

O ne of the major problems of the broiler industry is

the prevalence of infectious diseases caused by
bacteria, viruses, mycoplasma, and parasites.

Moreover, the industry suffers from recent health

problems such as losses from feed containing
mycotoxin and
non-infectious
diseases such as
sudden death
syndrome (SDS),
ascites, and leg
disorders which
affect chickens
with the more rapid
A broiler drinking water
growth rate.

To minimize and control the current poultry

diseases, the use of effective vaccines, antimicrobial
agents, extensive health management systems, and
continuous research are highly recommended.

Disease Prevention & Control 1

Vaccination
accination

V
accination is an effective and economical means of
preventing infectious poultry diseases.

Vaccines are biological products prepared from the

organisms causing the disease. Live vaccines have living
attenuated organisms capable of replicating in the chicken
to induce an immune response or antibody production.

! Vaccinated chickens do not become immunized

immediately upon vaccination because protective
antibodies would
appear 10 to 14 days
after an initial
vaccination with a live
vaccine.

Broilers take a rest after eating

! There is often a need to re-vaccinate chicks when

they are immunized at day-old or during the 1st week of
life. This is due to the presence of high levels of egg-
transferred antibodies or maternal antibodies in

2 Disease Prevention & Control

chicks which may destroy or neutralize the vaccine
and may shorten the duration of protection offered by
vaccination.

! Decreased feed consumption and development of

mild respiratory symptoms are some of the post-
vaccination reactions that may be observed after
vaccinating with live vaccines against respiratory
diseases like Chronic Respiratory Disease (CRD) or
Infectious Bronchitis (IB).

Table 1. Vaccination schedule for broiler chicks.

Age of
Type of Vaccine Route of Administration Remarks
Chicken

7-10 days New Castle Disease Intraocular (eye drop) Chicks from
(NCD), B1 strain Intranasal (nose drop) unvaccinated parents
(live vaccine) may be vaccinated as
early as 1-3 days of
age

7-15 days Infectious bursal Via drinking water If chicks are vaccinated
disease (IBD), before 7 days old,
intermediate strain re-vaccination at 21
(live vaccine) days of age may be
indicated for optimum
protection

21-28 days NCD, La Sota strain Via drinking water

21-24 days Fowl fox vaccine Wing web Not done if disease is
not common or present
in the area

Disease Prevention & Control 3

Vaccination Tips
accination

1. Purchase vaccines from reliable sources. Use

recommended strain/type of vaccines.

2. Keep vaccines cool at all times. Vaccines should be

carried in an ice box during transport. If stored
in the refrigerator,
keep temperature
at 4oC but do not
subject to freezing
and thawing.

3. Take note of the expiry date which is stamped on

each packet of vaccine. Vaccines lose potency
slowly even when stored under ideal conditions.

4. Strictly follow the

vaccination
schedule and use vaccines
according to the
manufacturer’s directions.

4 Disease Prevention & Control

5. Give the correct dose.
Dosageshould not be
decreased nor
increased
unnecessarily.

6. Vaccinate healthy
chickens only. Do not
vaccinate the flock when there is an outbreak of
disease in the farm such as infectious coryza,
coccidiosis, or CRD.

7. Administer live vaccines within one hour after

reconstitution. Keep vaccines cool during
vaccination time.

8. Avoid submitting the

broilers to
unnecessary stress
during vaccination.
Anti-stress
supplements may be
given via drinking
water at least two
days before and three days after vaccination that
requires individual handling of chickens, e.g.,
intraocular or intranasal administration.

Disease Prevention & Control 5

9. Destroy unused
reconstituted live
vaccines. Burn or
bury empty vials/
bottles and
leftover live
reconstituted
vaccines.

10.The immune response to NCD or IBD live vaccines

may be checked or monitored by the
hemagglutination-inhibition (HI) test or ELISA, 10 to 14
days after each NCD or IBD vaccination. These tests
are conducted in most diagnostic laboratories.
Re-vaccinate flock if protection or antibody titer is low.

Vaccination Failure

O ccasionally, vaccines may fail to immunize or

adequately protect chickens from field pathogens
for the following reasons:

1.Administration of vaccines that do not contain the

appropriate strain or serotypes of the pathogen
causing the disease.

6 Disease Prevention & Control

 2. Decreased vaccine potency due to improper storage
or handling and already expired vaccine.

3. Administration of inadequate dose or poor method of

vaccine administration.

4. Presence of high levels of maternal antibody

interferes with active immunization of very young chicks.

5. Stress, incomplete development of immuno-

competence, poor nutrition, mycotoxin, presence of
concurrent immunosuppressive infections (e.g. IBD,
CRD, coccidiosis) that tend to cause immune response
to vaccines to be less effective or incomplete.

Medication
Medication

I n prevention and treatment of bacterial and parasitic

diseases in poultry, there are instances when
appropriate chemotherapeutic agents are used if no
vaccine is available.

Medication using these chemotherapeutic agents

are incorporated in broiler feeds or in their drinking water
especially when sick chickens do not eat because they
lack appetite.

Disease Prevention & Control 7

 The amount of chemotherapeutic agent added to the
feeds or drinking water is a concentration usually
expressed as grams per ton or parts per million (ppm).
This always refers to the active drug ingredient. The
average dose rate can be calculated from the average
daily feed or water intake, the concentration of the
chemotherapeutic agent , and the average body weight
of the chickens in the flock.

To minimize the risk of drug residues in animal

tissues that are harmful to human health, all medications
in the feed or drinking water must be withdrawn at least
five days prior to slaughter. This is in case the animal will
be slaughtered before the required withdrawal period or
in case of failure to observe withdrawal periods.

8 Disease Prevention & Control

Br oiler Medica
Broiler tion
Medication
1. Anti-stress preparations (e. g., antibiotic-vitamin-
electrolyte supplements) may be given via the
drinking water during the first three to five days
after each vaccination
with a live virus vaccine
that requires individual
handling of the chickens
for its administration.

2. Coccidiostat is given continuously with the feed from

the 1st to 28th day of age. Observe proper
withdrawal period.

3. Anti-malarial preparations (e. g., pyrimethamine-

sulfamonomethoxine/sulfadimethoxine plus
vitamins) may be given in the feed or drinking water
between 10 to 14 days of age, for two consecutive
days each week for five weeks in areas where the
disease is prevalent. Observe proper withdrawal
period.

Disease Prevention & Control 9

Sanitation
Sanitation

M aintaining proper sanitation in the poultry house is

important because the continuous rearing and high
concentration of animals often lead to a disease build up.
The poultry houses, its premises and equipment must be
thoroughly cleaned and disinfected to reduce microbial
activity in the environment and allow vaccination to be
more effective.
Cleaning and Disinfection

1. Cleaning must be done first before disinfectrion

since the potency of most disinfectants may be greatly
reduced by organic
matters, e. g.,
droppings and dust
feed accumulation.
Cleaning is best
accomplished by the
use of a pressure
hose with or without
detergent.

10 Disease Prevention & Control

2. Disinfectants do not act
instantly, thus, allow time
for their germicidal effect.
Most disinfectants are
effective when applied in
solution because it
penetrates deeply into
areas, thus, killing more
organisms.

3. A disinfectant for decontamination of buildings

should work well with a moderate amount of
organic matter, be compatible with detergents,
harmless to building materials, and relatively non-
toxic to man and animals.

4. A disinfectant must be readily soluble even in hard

water, effective against a wide variety of infectious
agents, e. g. viruses, bacteria, fungi, and protozoa,
free from objectionable or lingering odor, readily
vailable, and inexpensive.

Disease Prevention & Control 11

Disinfectants ffor
Disinfectants or Poultr
Poultr
oultryy Far
Far ms
arms
Disinfectant
Phe n olic co m p o un d s (e . g.
creso l, ortho p hen yl-p hen o l, a nd
o rth o ben zyl-p a ra ch lo ro p hen o l)
O rga n ic io d ine
co m bin a tio n s/io d o p h ores (e. g.
p o vid o ne-io d in e)
Q u a tern a ry a m mo n iu m
co m p o u n d s/qu a ts (e. g.
ben za lko n iu m ch loride ,
ben zeth on iu m ch lorid e,
cetylp yrid in iu m ch lo rid e)
H yp o ch lorite (e. g. ch lorin e)
Co m bin a tio n s o f o rga n ic a cid s,
o rga n ic bo d ies, a nd su rfa cta nts
G lu tara ld eh yd e-d imen th yl
a mm o n iu m ch lo rid e co m p lex
12 Disease Prevention & Control
Indications
! Fo o t d ip s
! Ro u tin e d isin fection o f p ou ltry
h o u ses, p rem ises a n d equ ip m ent
befo re resto ckin g or after an
o u tbrea k o f d isea se.
! Fin a l d isin fection o f p ou ltry
h o u ses a n d equ ip m en t. These
co m p o u n d s a re mo st effective o n
clea n surfa ces.
! Fin a l d isin fection o f feed ers,
wa tere rs, a nd o th er equ ip men t.
Effective o n clea n su rfa ces.
! Wa ter san itizer
! Fin a l d isin fection o f feed ers,
wa terers, a nd o th er equ ip m en t.
Effective o n clea n su rfa ce s.
! Wa ter san itize r
! Fin a l/term in a l d isinfectio n o f
po u ltry h ou ses an d equ ip m en t
befo re resto ckin g.
! Ro u tin e d isin fection o f p ou ltry
ho u ses, p re mises a n d e qu ipm ent
befo re resto ckin g a n d a fter a
disea se ou tbrea k.
! Wh eel/Fo o t d ip s
Reference
The Broiler Production Committee, 1996. The
Philippines recommends for broiler pro
duction. Los Baños, Laguna: PCARRD. 91p.
(PCARRD Philippines Recommends Series
No. 10-B/1997)

Pictures taken from

Poultry Digest. Watt Publishing Co.,
Mount Morris, Illinois, USA.

Gina DC. Romano

Managing Editor and Desktop Publishing Artist
Antonieta J. Arceo
Editor
Antonio P. Orbeta
Artist-Illustrator
Amelia V. Marcelo, DVM
Subject Matter Specialist
Department of Agriculture-Livestock Development
Council
Roberto T. Masbang
Editha S. Vinuya
Editorial Consultants
Asterio P. Saliot, MNSA
Adviser
Produced by:

Extension Communication Division

Agricultural Training Institute
Diliman, Quezon City