Freddy Haesebrouck

IntroductionMycotoxins are naturally occurring secondary fungal metabolites produced both pre- and post-harvest in crops and other feed and food commodities. Fusarium, Aspergillus, and Penicillium are the most abundant mycotoxin producing mould genera contaminating feed and feed raw materials [1]. Fumonisins (FBs) are produced by Fusarium verticillioides, F. proliferatum, and other Fusarium specie ...

1. IntroductionToxigenic fungi may often colonize fodder crops and feed components. Under varied environmental conditions, they can produce toxic secondary metabolites, called mycotoxins. A recent study investigated the occurrence of mycotoxins in European feed samples and concluded that 82% of the samples were contaminated with mycotoxins [1], indicating that mycotoxins are omnipresent. All farm ...

BackgroundGroup administration of veterinary drugs through feed and drinking water is frequently applied in the pig industry. Antimicrobials are often administered to pigs by mixing the feed with an oral powder or premix formulation [1–3]. The important role of group administration of antimicrobials in the selection of resistant bacteria is generally recognized [4]. Concerns about antimicrob ...

INTRODUCTIONSince the 1970’s, broilers have substantially improved in growth rate, breast-meat yield and efficiency of feed conversion (Dawkins and Layton, 2012). Feed conversion ratio (FCR), calculated as the ratio of feed consumed to weight gained, is a widely used performance measure, representing how efficiently the feed is utilized and converted into body mass (Stanley et al., 2012). Th ...

INTRODUCTION For many years, broiler intestinal health was supported by the widespread use of antimicrobial growth promoters (AGPs). These AGPs are antibiotic substances that were added to the feed at subtherapeutic levels, leading to improved animal performance. In the European Union, the use of AGPs was banned in 2006 while the Center for Veterinary Medicine of the US Food and Drug. Administr ...

 IntroductionWorldwide, necrotic enteritis (NE) leads to important production losses, increased feed consumption and mortality rates, and a reduced welfare of broiler chickens [1–4]. The causative agent of NE is Clostridium perfringens, a Gram-positive spore forming bacterium which occurs ubiquitously in the environment, in feed and in the gastrointestinal tract of animals and humans [5 ...

1. Introduction Clostridium perfringens is an anaerobic, spore-forming Gram-positive bacterium often found as a normal inhabitant of animal and human intestines [1–3]. However, by mechanisms and stimuli that are not fully understood, C. perfringens undergoes rapid proliferation, while producing several toxins, resulting in disease onset. Classification of C. perfringens strains is based on t ...