How can passive maternal protection against NE help my flocks?
Vaccination of replacement pullets to protect progeny chicks is a widely used preventive measure against many infectious poultry diseases. Alpha toxin produced by C. perfringens types A and C is the leading cause of the typical intestinal mucosal lesions that develop in chickens with NE. Specific antibodies have been used to protect other animal species against diseases caused by various C. perfringenstoxin types; they may also protect broilers against NE. In a study of naturally occurring specific antibodies against C. perfringens alpha toxin in broiler chickens, Heier et al. (Avian Diseases, 2001) found that flocks with high blood titers of specific maternal antibodies against the alpha-toxin had lower mortality during the grow-out period than flocks with low titers.
