Oral Administration of Faecalibacterium prausnitzii Decreased the Incidence of Severe XXXX and Related Mortality Rate and Increased Weight Gain in Preweaned Dairy Heifers.

@entity294 @entity291 @entity344
UNASSIGNED: Probiotics are a promising alternative to improve food animal productivity and health. However, scientific evidence that specific microbes can be used to benefit animal health and performance is limited. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of administering a live culture of Faecalibacterium prausnitzii to newborn dairy @entity291 on subsequent growth, health, and fecal microbiome. Initially, a safety trial was conducted using 30 newborn bull @entity291 to assess potential adverse effects of the oral and rectal administration of F. prausnitzii to neonatal @entity291 . No adverse reactions, such as increased body temperature or heart and respiratory rates, were observed after the administration of the treatments. All @entity291 survived the experimental period, and there was no difference in fecal consistency score, attitude, appetite or dehydration between the treatment groups. The rectal route was not an efficient practice while the oral route ensures that the full dose is administered to the treated @entity291 . Subsequently, a randomized field trial was completed in a commercial farm with preweaned @entity291 . A total of 554 Holstein heifers were assigned to one of two treatment groups: treated @entity291 (FPTRT) and non-treated @entity291 (control). Treated @entity291 received two oral doses of F. prausnitzii, one at treatment assignment (1st week) and another one week later. The FPTRT group presented significantly lower incidence of severe @entity294 (3.1%) compared with the control group (6.8%). Treated @entity291 also had lower mortality rate associated with severe @entity294 (1.5%) compared to control @entity291 (4.4%). Furthermore, FPTRT @entity291 gained significantly more weight, 4.4 kg over the preweaning period, than controls @entity291 . The relative abundance of F. prausnitzii in the fecal microbiota was significantly higher in the 3rd and 5th weeks of life of FPTRT @entity291 than of the control @entity291 , as revealed by sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. Our findings showed that oral administration of F. prausnitzii improves @entity344 and growth of preweaned @entity291 , supporting its use as a potential probiotic.
