Exposure of Broiler Chickens to a Weak Electromagnetic Field Reduces the Impact of a Simulated, Commercial Eimeria Infection

Abstract

<b>Problem statement:</b> In a previous study, the exposure of broiler chickens to a weak Electromagnetic Field (EMF) reduced the severity of a coccidiosis infection. The birds were infected by gavage into the crop which was not representative for the field situation. <b>Approach:</b> The possible anticoccidial activity of EMF was investigated in broiler chickens with a simulated, commercial coccidiosis infection. There was an uninfected and infected group not receiving further treatment. Another uninfected and infected group were subjected to EMF treatment. The infection was induced by adding to the litter a mixture of <i>E. acervulina</i>, <i>E. maxima</i> and <i>E. tenella</i>. EMF treatment lasted for 30 min day^-1; the field strength within the cages was set to 5 &#956;Tesla rms. <b>Results:</b> Infection with <i>Eimeria</i> resulted in a transient reduction of growth performance in the control chickens. Exposure to EMF counteracted the effect of infection on growth performance. EMF treatment had no effect on oocyst shedding. In the infected birds exposed to EMF, the lesion scores related to the three <i>Eimeria</i> species were generally lower than in the infected controls. Due to cross-contamination, the uninfected birds also showed intestinal lesions, the severity being less than in the infected chickens. In the uninfected birds, EMF treatment also had reduced the severity of the lesions. <b>Conclusion:</b> In this study EMF exposure protected against coccidiosis in broiler chickens. Consequently, EMF was considered as a possible alternative to anticoccidial drugs.</font

The Effects of the Magnetic Drinking Water in Poultry: a Review

“…Furthermore, these results are supported by those obtained by Anne et al (2016) reported that a magnetic field can be used to inhibit E. coli, in their experiments, they used MW of 2 mT, 6 mT, and 10 mT for 6 hours and concluded that the maximum disinfection efficiency was 82.2% for bacteria exposed to a magnetic flux of 10 mT for 6 hours. Elmusharaf et al (2010) showed that weak electromagnetic field (5 µTesla) treatment for 30 min per day, protected against coccidiosis in broiler chickens.…”

“…Consequently, magnetic field was considered as a possible alternative to anticoccidial drugs in poultry production (Elmusharaf et al, 2010). Electromagnetic field exposure may have an anti-inflammatory effect (Vallbona and Richard, 1999;Montesinos et al, 2000) and beneficial effects on the nervous system have been recognized (Kaszuba-Zwoińska et al, 2005).…”

“…Electromagnetic field exposure is considered as a possible alternative to anticoccidial drugs (Elmusharaf et al, 2010), has beneficial effects on the nervous system (Kaszuba-Zwoińskaet al, 2005) and may have an antiinflammatory effect (Montesinos et al, 2000). In addition, some studies have concluded that magnetic treatment improved the quality of the well water and it have positive effects on the reproductive properties (Wang et al, 1998;Al-Daraji and Aziz, 2008;Hassan et al, 2018;El Sabrout and El-Hanoun, 2019).…”