A Neonates are immunologically immature, which affects both antibody and cell mediated function and makes the animals highly susceptible to infection. Antibiotics have been used for about 50 years in animal feed as growth promoting agent, to prevent gastro intestinal diseases, improvement in performance and as antimicrobial agent. Read more
Commonly used antibiotics in livestock and poultry feed include chlortetracycline, procaine penicillin, oxytetracycline, neomycin sulfate, erythromycin, linomycin, oleandomycin, virginamycin and bambermycins. Chemically synthesized antimicrobial agents also used. Other chemicals also used as anti protozoal agents to prevent coccidiosis and histomaniasis in chickens. The level of antibiotics may get increased from 2-50grams/ton to 50-200grams/ton for efficient conversion of feed to animal product, increased growth rate and lower mortality in general.
After animals fed antibiotics over a period of time they retains the strains of bacteria which are resistant to antibiotics. These bacteria proliferate in animal, bacteria flourish in the intestinal flora. As a result, the feces of animals often contain the resistant bacteria and transfer to human beings is possible by many practices. And also human get infected by eating meat from animals with resistant bacteria. It will cause infection to patient and transmitted to other patient. Colonization in other patients with other resistant bacteria can produce bacteria with multi drug resistance. These patient could potentially infect several community members. Multiple infections in many patients could potentially produce a super germ which is resistant to many drugs due to resistance sharing between bacteria.
Chitosan are reported that it will beneficially affect the host by selectively inducing the growth and/or activity of one or limited number of bacteria in colon. Chitosan of N-acetylglucosamine with β-(1 4) linkages and recognized as one of prebiotics, are an extremely insoluble and not broken down by mammalian digestive enzyme in gastrointestinal tract. Chitosan has enhanced the lactose digestion by feeding in broilers. Dietary supplementation with 0.1% of chitosan in chick reduced the no. of E.coli in the GIT while improves the small intestinal microvilli density, serum antibody titre against Newcastle disease virus. It have been demonstrated in rat that the chitosan has hypocholesterolemic activity, immunoadjuvant activity, and protecting activity against disease infection. chitosan is a useable ingredient for domestic animal feeds, but little is known about the biological safety, digestibility, and functionality of chitosan by its oral administration for long term in other domestic animals. COS has great potential as an effective, antibiotic-like growth promoter for poultry.