Alternative programmes in poultry farming have been proposed by Filavie as part of the French plan, Ecoantibio 2012-2017, which aims to reduce antibiotic resistance and thus tackle an issue of growing importance in human as well as veterinary medicine.

The target is to reduce antibiotic use in France by 25 per cent by 2017.

Ecoantibio comprises 40 measures, of which nine cover the development of alternatives to antibiotics. Other concern biosecurity measures and vaccination to help combat bacterial diseases.

As part of the search for alternatives, one proposal involves competitive exclusion, using "good" bacteria or commensal bacteria, naturally present in the environment and in the organism of animals, particularly in the intestinal tract.

Since the 1980s, the mode of action of microflora has become better understood, leading to the development of probiotics.

Filavie's Approach

As a manufacturer of commercial vaccines and bacterial autogenous vaccines, the technology to develop and manufacture 'barrier flora' products came naturally to Filavie.

Its flagship product, Liquid Filactis, contains 12 strains of bacteria, deposited at the Pasteur Institute, from the genera Lactobacillus, Bacillus and Pediococcus.

It provides a broad spectrum of activity and has been show to be effective, with consistent results and is stable during 12 months of storage.

These characteristics were achieved at Filavie by multiplying each strain independently and making the mixture only after obtaining a proper titre of each one.

There are currently four areas of application for 'barrier floras':

• 'biological disinfection' on surfaces and equipment,
• colonisation of the gut by drinking water or reconstituted milk,
• nebulisation in the hatchery and
• composting.

Fliavie explains that implementation of these programmes has achieved positive results:

• effective against Salmonella, E. coli and clostridia
• farms using 'barrier floras' no longer use antibiotics
• production benefits, including better nutrient absorption, improved litter and air quality, and
• composting is simplified.

Filavie says that its 'barrier flora' are effective in solving the problem of antimicrobial resistance in bacteria.

Furthermore, they have been validated for farm composting and are certified for organic production.