During the recent years, new diseases, or diseases associated with non-pathogenic microorganisms are appearing more frequently under normal conditions. These diseases are due to the so-called emerging pathogens and opportunistic pathogens.

These diseases cause very negative situations for production. On the other hand, fast transmission and fast effects in short periods of time can cause high economic losses. These losses are both at the level of productive and mortality rates, and at the level of increased costs in diagnosis, analysis, creation of new treatments and prevention techniques among many other things.

Despite all the prophylactic treatments included in the production programs, which include both vaccine treatments that generate a good immunity and growth promoting medicines that prevent bacterial proliferation, pathologies continue to appear. In many cases, the productive pressure that animals get during their life causes stress in their life cycle, which facilitates the proliferation of exogenous bacteria, or endogenous bacteria, which can produce important pathologies, both sanitary and economic.

This is where these emerging and opportunistic pathogens become especially important and cause some new or secondary diseases.

Decrease in the immunological capacity

To all this, we must add the changes that have occurred in the genetics of birds. There is a constant genetic selection towards an optimization of production, in which growth rates are getting better. This continuous improvement in the metabolic efficiency of the animals in turn decreases their immunological capacity. The animals grow each time faster with significantly improved production rates, but with a very high metabolic effort. Therefore, the productive conformation develops before the immune system, thus decreasing its ability to respond to the attack of many microorganisms.

Constant mutations of viruses and organisms

Organisms such as viruses suffer constant mutations in their genome, as well as recombination processes and redistribution of gene sequences. This facilitates its adaptation to the interior and its multiplication, and therefore their spread in the production centres. In the viral infections in many occasions an immunosuppression happens simultaneously, which makes the animals more sensitive to secondary or opportunistic infections, that cause important economic losses.

Finally, the use of antimicrobial medicines for long time periods causes resistance and is more difficult to control bacterial proliferation.

Problems of emerging and opportunistic pathogens in recent years

Recently, problems of emerging or opportunistic pathogens have been the subject of interest and described. An example of them is Escherichia coli. Natural component of the intestinal flora of birds, for many years without any pathogenic effect until now, new strains have been described as virulent, and others even without being considered pathogenic are also producing this pathogenic effect. Another example, Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale, is an agent that affects broilers, breeders and layers, decreasing production rates and increasing mortality, and therefore causing economic losses. There are many examples of emerging and opportunistic pathogens, but the most important thing to note is that their appearance is due to the sum of all these factors that are making it difficult to control them on farms.

Prevention is the best way to fight diseases, although due to drug resistance, the ineffective or irregular response to vaccines and other factors leads to the conclusion that the best prevention is to boost the immune system.

Use of immune-boosting natural additives

According to all these, one solution is the use of immune booster substances. The company Biovet S.A. in its line of pronutrients has developed a product named Alquernat Inmuplus. An immune booster of natural origin, its function has been tested through numerous fields and in vitro tests through universities and research centres.

Its function is to stimulate general immunity in young or adult animals, healthy or sick, to improve the specific immune response created by vaccination, and allows supplementing or substituting antimicrobial therapy. Its activity is based on the stimulation of genes that originate the production of functional proteins that stimulate the immune system.

The correct development and functioning of the immune system is what will help for greater survival of the animals, a greater resistance to the appearance of pathologies, whether they are known or emerging, and therefore an optimal state of health that allows performing cycles with good productive and economic rates.