UNAIR NEWS – Breeders still have to remain vigilant to bacterial diseases. Antibiotics that are usually useful in dealing with these problems are now limited. This is related to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) or a condition in which a microorganism such as positive or negative gram bacteria in the body are no longer affected by certain antibiotic drugs.
The use of antibiotics, both in animals and humans, will affect the development of resistant bacteria in the digestive tract. Then, resistant bacteria will move through intermediaries and pollute the environment and be harmful to living things. If there is no global control, in 2050, AMR will become the number one killer in the world with a death toll reaching 10 million.
The AMR issue has become a public health issue that attracts the attention of health stakeholders around the world, including in the animal health sector. The government itself is conducting surveillance efforts and has established five national strategic objectives regarding AMR control. One of them is the development and innovation of new medicines, kit replacement, vaccines, and other interventions.
In the national poultry seminar, Indo Livestock 2019 Expo and Forum last week, several experts have offered several alternative antibiotic substitutes. One of them was a lecturer from Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (FKH) Universitas Airlangga, Prof. Dr. Suwarno, drh., M.Si with his research on the use of egg yolk (IgY) as a breakthrough for the disease treatment.
“If the previous speaker spoke about using probiotics, I proposed a different method. I use antibodies found in egg yolk or Immunoglobulin Yolk(IgY), “said Prof. Suwarno starting the fourth session of the discussion.
According to Prof. Suwarno, generally, IgY is used as immunotherapy, preventive means, and means of diagnosis, both for animals and humans. When it is used for therapy, IgY does not react with anti-IgY rheumatoid factor IgM, does not precipitate, and does not affect other diseases. The processing is easy, inexpensive, environmentally friendly, harmless, and can be a useful economic source.
“When we do isolation, it doesn’t take much cost, the animal is easy to handle, reducing the negative effects, and the most important thing is animal welfare. Then we don’t have to kill animals by taking blood because it’s enough from the egg yolk alone, ” stated the secretary of Airlangga Disease Prevention and Research Center.
In order to use egg yolk or IgY as an alternative treatment, several stages are required. First, after vaccination, a chicken will produce antibodies in the blood. Then the blood flows to the ovary and finally transferred to egg yolk because of the specific nature of IgY and the presence of selective receptors.
“IgY in the egg yolk will protect the chicks from infection. Therefore, if the yolk is extracted, it will produce IgY. Well, that IgY can be used for various purposes. The production technique is also simple, starting with immunization, harvesting, isolation, purification, and formulation, “explained the author of Elisa: Theory and the Protocols.
Some diseases in humans that can be treated with IgY are dental caries, tuberculosis, diarrhoea, gastritis, and many others. While in animals such as influenza, diarrhoea, to toxoplasma. The mechanism, when it enters the body, IgY will coat the cell so that it prevents bacteria from entering the cell, prevents the release of the virus, and inhibits bacterial enzyme activity so there are no new developing bacteria.
“My product that utilizes IgY is a supplement used to treat poultry from the avian influenza virus. It is in the form of a spray which can be sprayed into the chicken beak five times. “Other uses of IgY can also be in the form of cosmetics, lotions, food ingredients, food, or injections,” stated Prof. Suwarno. (*)
Author: Nabila Amelia
Editor: Feri Fenoria Rifa’i
