1. The effect on feed efficiency of two probiotics, one prepared with Saccharomyces boulardii and the other with Bacillus cereus var. toyoii, was tested in broilers infected with Salmonella enteritidis. 2. One-day-old chicks were divided at random into three groups and fed commercial feed devoid of antibiotics: group 1 was fed with non-supplemented feed, group 2 was supplemented with S. boulardii and group 3 with B. cereus. At 14 d of age the animals were challenged by the oral route with 1 x 10(7) viable S. enteritidis. 3. At d 47, average live weights were: group 1, 1.77 kg, group 2, 1.89 kg and group 3, 2.06 kg, and were significantly different. Feed conversion rates were 2.61 for group 1, 2.35 for group 2 and 2.30 for group 3. 4. We conclude that both probiotics improved feed efficiency in broilers.

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Antibiotic susceptibility of thirty Moraxella bovis strains recovered from outbreaks of Infectious Bovine Keratoconjunctivitis (IBK) in Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay between 1974 and 2001 was determined using the Kirby-Bauer and the Minimal Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) methods. Our results suggest that most strains were susceptible to the antibiotics used in the treatment of IBK, and that the antibiotic susceptibility of M. bovis varied with the geographical region and period of recovery.