The bacterium Escherichia coli (E. coli), has re-emerged in broiler operations, said Nicolle Lima Barbieri, researcher at the University of Georgia. The bacterial pathogen’s appearance in broilers seems to coincide with poultry companies’ switch to ‘no antibiotics ever’ (NAE) programs. Avian pathogenic E. coli (APEC) is not well understood, she told Poultry Health Today.
“Avian pathogenic E. coli gained some genes that we call virulence factors, which make the bacteria able to cause disease,” Barbieri said. “These bacteria in the field can change and virulent genes can transfer from one bacteria to the other.”
This is the same E. coli that can cause illness in humans, she added. “Some studies correlate APEC to the same E. coli that causes neonatal meningitis in babies, or urinary tract infections in humans,” she said.
