Published in Scientific Works. Series C. Veterinary Medicine, Vol. LXI
Written by OGNEAN L., Viorica CHIURCIU, C. CHIURCIU, F. ZĂVOIU, S. TRÎNCĂ, Alexandra ARION, Rosalie DOJANĂ
In the intensive rearing systems for broiler chickens, a common practice is the overdosage of antibiotics in order to cure or prevent diseases or as growth promoters. Despite all the advances in medicine and technology, the residual antibiotics in poultry meat are still an important problem, generating controversy between the farmers, who support the benefits of antibiotics and the final consumers, who bring up the health risk regarding the food safety of these substances. This research aims on evaluating the effects of overdosing an oxytetracycline based product, on the hematological parameters in chickens, for an early detection of such risks. The hematological effects of overdosing an oxytetracycline based product (Galiprotect) were evaluated on five experimental groups, each consisting of 11 broiler chickens, receiving therapeutic, double and higher doses (8 times and 16 times the therapeutic dose), for three consecutive days; also a control group was kept and fed in the exact same conditions as the experimental groups. After the treatments and at the end of the experimental period, the main hematological parameters have been determined and the recorded data was statistically analyzed and interpreted. The individual values of the hematological parameters presented important variations, some outside the physiological ranges. Their evolution indicated that the overdose of the oxytetracycline based product affected mainly the leukocyte population, inducing leukocytosis (p<0.0001) also associated with heterophillia (p<0.0001) and lymphopenia, respectively, attributed to the AD3E vitamin complex from the drug formula. The statistical analysis also indicated decreases of the erythrocyte parameters, a statistically significance being recorded for the hemoglobin (0.0027D) and the MCHC values (0,0007D). The therapeutic use of the oxytetracycline based products in poultry determines hematologic changes, expressed by leukocytosis associated with heterophillia and decreases of the erythrocyte mass parameters, based on which the overdosage can be suspected.
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