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Context and objectives

Colibacillosis is one of the most common diseases in poultry, involving significant economic losses and the use of antibiotics. The Escherichia coli bacterium has a wide variety of strains and virulence factors, making it difficult to characterise and control the disease.

The three parts of the COLISEE study will be conducted from 2017 to 2019:

• Part 1 : Epidemiological study in 100 chicken farms to identify the factors that trigger colibacillosis and to study the relationship between the molecular profiles of E.Coli strains and epidemiological-clinical data. Given the frequent association between E.Coli and Enterococcus, especially in the case of locomotor disorders, isolation of Enterococcus strains will also be carried out.
• Part 2 : Development of tools for the characterization of E.coli strains isolated in farms (PCR and MALDI-TOF).
• Part 3: Development of colibacillosis models and vaccination trials using isolated strains.

Recruitment of the 100 chicken farms

The study will be carried out in 100 batches of broilers from the Great West of France over a period of 18 months. It is planned to have 5 participating organisations with 20 flocks per organisation spread over the 18 months (i.e. 1 to 2 flocks/organisation per month). Recruitment is based on the voluntary work of the breeders and production organisations.

Criteria for the inclusion of lots :
- Chickens of Ross PM3, Ross 308 and Cobb strains
- Lots vaccinated against Infectious Bronchitis and Gumboro disease.
- Located close to a partner laboratory of the study
- Set up in the morning (Tuesday or Wednesday)

Financing of the study and reporting of results

The study is funded by the Ministry of Agriculture, Agri-Food and Forestry (CASDAR) and the CPIC. The cost of bacteriological analyses is covered by the study, except in cases of suspected colibacillosis for which the lesions do not meet the criteria.

As soon as the analyses are carried out, the results will be returned to the organisation's technicians and to the breeders by the laboratories. Technical and scientific communications will also provide all the results of the study.

People involved in BIOEPAR : Florence Beaugrand - Mily Leblanc-Maridor

Financing of the study and reporting of results