Volume 44, September 2018 | Newsletter Editor: Dr G.B. Havenstein, |
Executive Committee
Secretary's Report
Board meeting 2018
The annual board meeting is planned 16-17 September 2018 in Dubrovnik, Croatia, prior to the European Poultry Conference.
Deceased board officers, International Poultry Hall of Fame (IPHF), MacDougall award
Rose-Marie Wegner (Assistant Editor 1963-1972, Secretary General 1984-1996, MacDougall Award 1994, IPHF 2000)
Donald Shaver (IPHF 1988)
Paul Hocking (IPHF 2016)
WPSA programmes
WPSA has several programmes to support members and branches. Details on the travel grant programmes, the speakers’ bureau programme and proposals for Branch development can be found on the WPSA website. Criteria for eligibility are published together with the (different) deadlines for the individual programmes. Please follow the instructions as inaccurate, incomplete and late applications have to be rejected.
WPSA presence at exhibitions and conferences
WPSA was present at the International Production and Processing Expo in Atlanta, USA; VIV MEA, Abu Dhabi; AGRA ME, Dubai, UAE; Victam Asia, Bangkok, Thailand and VIV Europe, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Visitors could collect promotional materials of WPSA, the WPS Journal, WPC 2020 and other symposia and conferences which were on display. More and more the booth becomes a meeting place for members from several countries.
The Asian Pacific Poultry Conference held in Bangkok, Thailand, 25-27 March, was a great success. Over 1200 participants came from all over the world.
From 9-11 May the International Poultry Conference in Nigde, organised by the Turkish branch of WPSA, from 15-17 May the International Conference in Sergiev Posad, organised by the Russian branch of WPSA, and from 16-19 June the Mediterranean Poultry Summit, Torino, organised by the Italian branch, were attended. All conferences were very well attended and proved that knowledge dissemination is very important and this type of meetings are an excellent tool for that purpose.
During the next month’s several conferences and other (branch) meetings are scheduled. To mention some, in September the European Poultry Conference, Dubrovnik, Croatia. In November the Algerian branch organizes the Algerian and Maghreb conference in Constantine, Algeria and in Atlanta, USA, there is the Poultry Summit on innovation. For the last months of 2018 other meetings and symposia are announced in New Zealand, Pakistan, Poland and Spain. Members are invited to attend the events and to meet many WPSA members and representatives.
Details on these and other meetings and exhibitions can be found in the calender on the WPSA website (www.wpsa.com).
Change of officers Asia Pacific Federation
During the Asia Pacific Poultry Conference in Bangkok, Thailand, representatives of Asia Pacific Federation member branches met.
Dr Sakchai Sriboonsue, Thailand, was elected president and is the successor of Alan Gibbins, New Zealand, who was the president for 12 years.
The China branch will organize the next APPC 2022.
Cooperation with the organization on World Veterinary Education in Production Animal Health (WVEPAH)
The WVEPAH, a non-profit organization organizes training courses on poultry (for 3 à 4 weeks) in several countries. More details are on www.wvepah.org. All activities will also be announced on our website and in the WPS Journal.
Data Privacy
25 May 2018, the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will come into effect. In order to comply with this regulation (and data protection regulations in other parts of the world), the data privacy page on our website, explains how we collect personal data and in what way we use them.
Dr Roel Mulder
Treasurer's Report
For many of us, the summer months are full of scientific society events. In July, I attended the Poultry Science Association (PSA) Meeting in San Antonio, Texas. I was joined by WPSA President Dr Ning Yang, and First Vice President, Dr Bob Buresh. While none of us particularly enjoyed the record-breaking Texas heat wave, we did enjoy many good presentations and high on that list was the WPSA Lecture sponsored by the Canada and United States Branches of WPSA. This year’s lecture, ‘The current state and future demands of the poultry industry: will we meet our commitments?’ was most ably presented by Dr Rick Kleyn of SPESFEED (Pty) Ltd., Broederstroom, South Africa. I met with the Board of the United States Branch and gave an international WPSA update at the Joint Luncheon Meeting of the two branches. In addition, I tried to spend as much time as possible in the Student Poster Sessions, where I visited with students and let them know about Travel Grant opportunities available through WPSA.
In August I travelled to Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia for the 25 Anniversary Conference of AMEVEA, Bolivia. Besides staffing a WPSA booth, after several years of work I was able to see the official start of a WPSA Bolivia Branch. I was joined by WPSA Past President, Dr Edir Da Silva, as we inaugurated the new Branch during the Gala Banquet festivities. I am proud to announce that Dr Sergio Salazar is the founding Branch President, and Dr Fernando Pena Torrez is, the founding Branch Secretary-Treasurer for Bolivia.
WPSA Past President Edir de Silva & WPSA Treasurer Francine Bradley (on Right) pictured before Gala dinner for the new Bolivian Brach with (in the front row) founding Pres. & Secretary of WPSA - Bolivia: Dr. Sergio Salazar and Dr. Mirtha Rivadineira, respectively, as well as other AMEVEA officers and invited guests in the back row |
Dr. Carlos Lopez Coello (President of WPSA-Mexico) and Dr. Francine Bradley (WPSA Treasurer) with a group of Bolivian veterinary students. |
In between travels, I have finalized the Treasurer’s Report of the 2017 books, which I will present at the upcoming Board Meeting. The 2017 financials were reviewed by the Committee of Drs. Mickey Hall (Clemson University) and Karen Schwean-Lardner (University of Saskatoon). A proposed budget for 2019 has been prepared and will be reviewed at the Board Meeting.
Looking forward to seeing many of you at the European Poultry Conference in Dubrovnik,
Dr Francine Bradley
Branch Development Programme
In the Board meeting held during WPC2016 in Beijing, China, the Board decided to increase the funds available for Branch Development by making a formal call for Branch Development Proposals. In 2018 we approved proposals from Croatia and Senegal.
For more information click here.
Next deadline for submission of Branch Development Proposals is January 1st.
Obituaries
Recently several former board officers, International Poultry Hall of Fame (IPHF) and/or MacDougall award recipients have passed away.
- Rose-Marie Wegner (Assistant Editor 1963-1972, Secretary General 1984-1996, MacDougall Award 1994, IPHF 2000)
- Paul Hocking (IPHF 2016)
- Donald Shaver (IPHF 1988)
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Dubrovnik, Croatia, 17-21 September 2018 |
The Croatian Branch has finalised the preparation for EPC 2018 which will be held in Dubrovnik, Croatia, on September 17-21, 2018. EPC 2018 will have a very interesting scientific programme, so you are warmly invited to join us and contribute to the Congress!
The Conference will be held in the Valamar Hotel & Resorts in Dubrovnik, Croatia, from 17-21 September, and they anticipate that more than 1,000 participants from all over the world will be in attendance to improve their knowledge of poultry research and production.
More information can be found on the web site www.epc2018.com.
Conference topics
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EPC2018 Programme at a glance
MONDAY, 17TH SEPTEMBER 2018
Welcome cocktail and Opening Ceremony
TUESDAY, 18TH SEPTEMBER 2018
Plenary sessions in the morning
Oral presentation and Workshops in the afternoon
WEDNESDAY 19TH SEPTEMBER 2018
Plenary sessions in the morning
Oral presentation and Workshops in the afternoon
Gala dinner
THURSDAY, 20TH SEPTEMBER 2018
Plenary sessions in the morning
Workshops in the afternoon
Closing ceremony
FRIDAY, 21ST SEPTEMBER 2018
Technical tour and Youth programme
Plenary Speakers and the titles of their Lectures
(Alphabetical order)
Barbut, Shai: New insights on breast myopathies
De Cesare, Alessandra: Metagenomic insights into the dynamics of microbial communities in poultry and poultry products : current challenges and future opportunities.
Humphrey, Tom: Campylobacter infection compromises broiler health, welfare and performance.
Norton, Tomas: Application of precision livestock farming technologies in the poultry sector.
Nys, Yves: How scientific innovation may improve egg production and quality on the development of non-food uses of eggs.
Ryhlil, Ivan: Microbiota, chicken gut health, and antibiotic reduction/resistance.
Savic, Vladimir: Viral infections of poultry – the globally challenging situation.
Siegert, Wolfgang: Non-essential amino acids – the forgotten nutrients.
Sossidou, Evangelia N.: Managing on-farm health and welfare risks to promote sustainability in poultry.
Steenfeldt, Sanna: Alternative protein sources for poultry nutrition.
Tixier-Boichard, Michelle: Are there limits to selection in poultry: theoretical, biological, ethical, environmental?
Yalcin, Servet: Preincubation and incubation conditions, hatching time and broiler growth.
WPSA’s Croatian Branch members are looking forward to welcoming you to Dubrovnik
Helga Medic, Secretary, Croatia Branch
European Federation
The European Federation has numerous conferences planned between now and the end of 2018.
News from a number of European Federation's working groups is provided below.
WPSA European Working Group News
WG2
Nutrition
The next European Symposium on Poultry Nutrition (ESPN2019) will be organised by the Polish Branch, and will be held in Gdansk, Poland from 10-13 June 2019. We will look forward to seeing all of you there.
WG4
Eggs and Egg Quality
WG4 currently has representatives from 21 countries and meets every 2 years at a key WPSA event. Every other year the group holds its own joint ‘EGGMEAT’ symposia with WG5 (Poultry Meat Quality). The aim of these symposia is to bring like-minded people together to discuss hot topics in the field of egg and meat quality.
EGGMEAT2019: The Turkish Branch of WPSA will host our next EGGMEAT symposium in Çeşme-Izmir, Turkey from the 23rd - 25th June 2019. Çeşme is a coastal town located at the end of Western Anatolia and is surrounded on three sides by the Aegean Sea. It is a prominent centre of international tourism in Turkey, famous for its excellent holiday accommodations, restaurants and entertainment facilities. Further details about EGGMEAT2019 are available on the conference website http://www.eggmeat2019.com/index.html#divdavet.
EPC2018: Members of WG4 attending EPC2018 are cordially invited to attend the next meeting of the group which will take place on Thursday 20th September 2018. Key items for our agenda will be the scientific programme for EGGMEAT2019 and Horizon 2020 funding opportunities under work programme 2018-2020 ( http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/data/ref/h2020/wp/2018-2020/main/h2020-wp1820-food_en.pdf ) . Details of the venue and time of our meeting will be made available during the conference.
For further information about WG4 membership and associated activities please contact Prof Maureen Bain ().
WG5
Poultry Meat Quality
The ‘XXIV European Symposium on the Quality of Poultry Meat’ will be conjointly held with the ‘XVIII European Symposium on the Quality of Eggs and Egg Products’ in Çeşme, İzmir, Turkey between 23 -26 June 2019. Visit http://www.eggmeat2019.com to keep you updated. Special reduced registration fees are available for WPSA members and students.
WG10
Turkeys
Meeting of Work Group 10 of WPSA (Turkey)
Turkey Production and Health: Challenges and opportunities
Berlin, Germany, 18th - 20th May 2017
To strengthen the dialog between persons involved in the different production stages, especially veterinarians and agriculturists, but also economists, and to exchange new results of scientific works and practical experiences, we have organised in Berlin since 2000 on behalf of the European Federation’s Working Group 10 on Turkeys international symposia. The aim of these symposia has been to stimulate the exchange of current information and ideas related to turkey production and health as well as to focus attention on specific problems and encouraging new approaches to solve them.
The 2017 symposium, was held between 18th - 20th May 2017 with the title ‘Turkey Production and Health: Challenges and Opportunities.’ It was attended by 92 scientists and experts from 19 countries (Algeria, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Morocco, Nigeria, Syria, Sweden, The Netherlands, Tunis, Turkey, United Kingdom and United States of America).
Currently several factors and problems face and influence the production of turkeys worldwide. Today’s intensive turkey production involves areas of conflict between consumer protection, animal welfare and economics; and it requires a lot of knowledge about breeding, husbandry practices, nutrition, diseases, slaughter and marketing, as well as knowledge regarding government regulations and legislations related to turkey production and health. Many human foodborne bacterial infections have been linked to poultry. Control and/or elimination of these organisms present a great challenge. The development of antibiotic resistant bacteria also is a continuous public health concern. On the other hand, only a few authorised pharmaceutical veterinary products will be available for the treatment of turkeys as food producing animals. Vaccination today and in the future is regarded as one of the most beneficial interventions to prevent diseases. The use of future progressive vaccine production can significantly reduce the cost of vaccines, ensure better efficacy, and allow easy and rapid intervention to face the steady mutation of the microorganisms involved. Furthermore, the development of efficient vaccines against bacterial infections will lead to a reduction of the use of antibiotics and subsequently will reduce the development of resistant bacteria. In general, consumer expectations for high quality products will strongly influence future production methods. This means that farmers, veterinarians, stockholders and all other partners involved in the production chain need to share more responsibilities.
At the 2017 symposium, 29 oral presentations were held in several different sections. Topics related to current and future challenges of turkey production and health in several countries were given. Other papers covered existing problems and solution throughout the entire production chain from the hatchery to the slaughterhouse. These included the effects of stress, light, and rearing management, as well as stocking density on animal welfare aspects and performances. In addition, several papers were presented that dealt with the effects of feed quality, litter quality, and footpad health on performance. Other papers dealt with current health problems and their diagnosis, as well as with problems related to antibiotic resistance and control methods. Special attention was given to histomoniasis and avian influenza (H5N8), and problems affecting trade with turkey and turkey products. The proceedings (181 pages) with the complete articles in English was published by Mensch & Buch Verlag (ISBN 3978-3-86387-884-9)
Last but not least, I would like to express my gratitude to all individuals who worked in the planning and co-ordination of the symposium, especially the staff of the Institute of Poultry Diseases at the Free University Berlin.
The 10th ‘Hafez’ International Symposium on Turkey Production will be held in Berlin, Germany; May/June 2019. I hope to see you in Berlin.
Prof. Dr H. M. Hafez
Chair of Working Group 10
World’s Poultry Science Association
Federation of European Branches
Institute of Poultry Diseases, Free University Berlin
Königsweg 63
14163 Berlin, Germany
Asia Pacific Federation
Asia Pacific Federation Meeting
The Asia Pacific Federation held its General Meeting on 26th March during the Asian Pacific Poultry Conference in Bangkok. This was well attended by delegates from nine of the Federation branches as well as the President of WPSA, Dr Ning Yang and the General Secretary of WPSA, Dr Roel Mulder.
The current President, Senior Vice President and Junior Vice President of the Asia/Pacific Federation, their four-year terms at an end, stepped down. In the following election of officers of the Federation Dr Sakchai Sriboonsue from the Thailand branch was elected as the new President with Mr Chuang Ma from the China branch elected as Senior Vice-President and Dr Nasir Mukhtar from the Pakistan branch elected as Junior Vice-President.
The office of Secretary is not an elected one, so in due course a new Secretary will be chosen and announced by the Presidents. The outgoing Secretary is Dr M. Abdollahi from the New Zealand branch.
The Immediate Past President, Mr Alan Gibbins from the New Zealand branch, who had served in this role for 12 years congratulated the new leadership of the Federation and wished them and the Federation well for the future.
Under another agenda item, the selection of host for the upcoming 12th APPC was made. This was gained by the China branch. The meeting attendees thanked the China branch for taking on this huge responsibility.
Other discussions at the meeting focussed on the Federation’s Constitution and a draft protocol for the selection of hosts for future Federation conferences.
Alan Gibbins, President Asian/Pacific Federation
WPSA Asian-Pacific Working Group News
World's Poultry Science Journal
You are likely aware that the last few years have seen academic publishers engaging with scholarly collaboration networks in various ways, trying to balance their popularity with authors and researchers against concerns over large-scale copyright infringement. Cambridge University Press, along with SpringerNature and Thieme, has just signed an agreement with ResearchGate to foster responsible sharing - see our joint statement here. Other publishers took part in the negotiations and are working to have a deal in place soon.
Click here for the full article.
Upcoming articles
Articles in upcoming Journal(s)
- Anthony Ike - The benefits of supplementation with antibiotic alternatives on Newcastle disease virus titres in poultry
- Heder Lima - Vitamin A in the diet of laying hens: enrichment of table eggs to prevent nutritional deficiencies in humans
- Ali Aygun - Poultry semen cryopreservation technologies
- Vladimir Titov - The role of nitric oxide (NO) in the body growth rate of birds
- Aisha Khatoon - An extensive review of experimental ochratoxicosis in poultry: I. Growth and production parameters along with histopathological alterations
- Bruno Vieira - Combination of phytase and organic acid for broilers: role in mineral digestibility and phytic acid degradation
Summaries
The benefits of supplementation with antibiotic alternatives on Newcastle disease virus titres in poultry
A.O. EMECHETA, A.C. IKE, C.J. ONU, C.D. EZE and C.V. OLOVO
Newcastle disease is one of the most important diseases of poultry with wide distribution and high fatalities. An infection with a virulent strain can cause up to 100% fatality in a susceptible flock, with devastating economic losses. In-feed antibiotics are not directly effective against Newcastle disease virus (NDV), but they may assist in prevent associated production problems. With in-feed antibiotics being controlled or banned, prebiotics, particularly those sourced from spices, and probiotics have been investigated as potential alternatives for maintaining seroconversion in poultry vaccinated against NDV. Certain prebiotics have a positive effect on anti-NDV antibodies but using spices as sources of prebiotics gave no clearly defined results. Garlic extract was reported to increase the mean haemagglutination inhibition (HI) titre of NDV by 0.6 after two weeks of supplementation, increasing titres by 4.0 in the vaccinated group compared to an increase of 3.4 in vaccinated unsupplemented group. However, onion-based compounds did not improve anti-NDV antibodies. The majority of studies have found that probiotics improved antibody levels and seroconversion to NDV vaccines in poultry. A commercial probiotic, containing a mixture of Bacillus species and Saccharomyces boulardii when used at a concentration of 100 g/ton was found to significantly increase the anti-NDV titre (log2) from 5.00 to 5.50. Another commercial probiotic, consisting of a combination of bacteria, reduced mortality by 6.6% at a concentration of 1 g/kg. Additional studies are needed to define the conditions and forms in which both the pre- and pro-biotics work best with respect to NDV control.
Vitamin A in the diet of laying hens: enrichment of table eggs to prevent nutritional deficiencies in humans
H.J.D. LIMA and L.A.Z. SOUZA
The concentration of vitamin A in egg yolk is directly related to its inclusion in the diet of laying hens. The vitamin A concentration of the egg yolk is 79 µg/100 g or 263 UI/100 g, and the concentration in 60 g eggs increased from 59 to 75 µg in response to an increase in dietary vitamin A supplementation. Currently, the level of vitamin A recommended for laying hens is 900 UI/day or 9,000 UI/kg feed and 15,000 UI/kg of egg mass. The bioavailability of preformed vitamin A in the egg ranges from 90 to 100%, accounting for about 15% of the daily recommended dietary intake for humans, while bioavailability may vary from 10 to 67%. The table egg is a functional food for humans that can be enriched with vitamin A, and its consumption could be an alternative to prevent and reduce the prevalence of deficiencies, especially in risk groups, such as children and the elderly.
Poultry semen cryopreservation technologies
H.B. ÇİFTCİ and A. AYGÜN
Several techniques have been developed for the preservation and improvement of genetic resources to maintain genetic diversity. Among those techniques, semen cryopreservation is thought to be the best and successfully applied by dairy and beef industries, but so far, it has not been established in the poultry industry. This is because poultry sperm cells have a unique shape and membrane fluidity, differing from those of mammalian sperm. Also, poultry sperm membranes contain higher quantities of polyunsaturated fatty acids than mammalian sperm, and hence may require more antioxidant protection. Due to the peculiarity of poultry sperm cells, commonly used cryoprotectants for cryopreservation have a contraceptive or toxic effect. This renders the fertility of frozen poultry sperm to become highly variable and not reliable enough for use in commercial production or preservation of genetic resources. The average fertility of frozen/thawed poultry sperm ranges between 2-80%. Therefore, this paper reviews the possible reasons for the lower success of poultry sperm cryopreservation.
The role of nitric oxide (NO) in the body growth rate of birds
V.YU. TITOV, A.M. DOLGORUKOVA, V.I. FISININ, E.N. BORKHUNOVA, G.V. KONDRATOV, N.A. SLESARENKO and I.I. KOCHISH
It has been established that embryogenesis is accompanied by the intense production of nitric oxide (NO). Based on available data, the rate of NO production is roughly equal in all embryos of the same poultry species. However, the rate of NO oxidation to nitrate in embryos of meat breeds is higher than in embryos of egg breeds. In broiler embryos about 90% of all produced NO is oxidised to nitrate. In embryos from egg breeds only several per cent of the NO oxidised to nitrate and the other NO is stored in the embryonic tissues included in NO donors. The intensity of NO oxidation in bird embryo is not depended on sex, age of the layer and feeding regime. Intensity of oxidation varies by no more than 10% within a breed strain or cross. Breeding to increase meat productivity is always associated with an increase in the intensity of NO oxidation in the embryo. There is no direct relationship between the increase in NO oxidation and the live weight gain. It can vary from hundreds of percent to several percent depending on the breed. Moreover, morphological differences between breeds with high and low intensity of embryonic NO oxidation are manifested only after hatching, as synthesis of NO is much lower than in the embryo. It has been presumed that NO oxidation is associated with the synthesis or activation of the factor(s) involved with enhanced growth of meat tissue. This is predetermined genetically and can be partly induced by exogenous stimulants, such as green light. The rate of embryonic NO oxidation can therefore be a useful criterion in practical selection of poultry and in the evaluation of growth enhancers acting at the embryonic level.
An extensive review of experimental ochratoxicosis in poultry: I. Growth and production parameters along with histopathological alterations
A. KHATOON and Z. ABIDIN
The presence of certain mycotoxins within poultry feed has a negative impact upon the growth and the quality of the final product in the form of meat and eggs. More than 300 different chemically diverse mycotoxins have been identified, but ochratoxins and aflatoxins are considered to be most harmful to the poultry industry. Ochratoxin, more importantly ochratoxin A (OTA) is produced by different species of Aspergillus and Penicillium spp. which are present as storage fungi within the stored grains and feed ingredients. Body weight gain has been found to decrease in a dose dependent manner when infected at rates of 0.5-29.4 mg/kg for 7-60 days in different experimental studies. Decreased feed intake has been observed at levels of 0.5-4 mg/kg OTA fed for 21-60 days, while egg production, hatchability, eggshell thickness and egg mass production is severely affected when 0.5-4 mg/kg OTA in feed was fed for 28-84 days. However, 0.5-20 mg/kg OTA given for between two and 10 weeks of age was sufficient to produce histopathological alterations in the liver, kidney, thymus, bursa of Fabricius, spleen, lungs and heart. The research shows that OTA adversely affects every organ in birds and, in the following review, OTA associated alterations in growth parameters, production performance and histopathological disturbances of different body organs are discussed.
Combination of phytase and organic acid for broilers: role in mineral digestibility and phytic acid degradation
B.S. VIEIRA, J.G. CARAMORI JUNIOR, C.F.S. OLIVEIRA and G.S.S. CORREA
The following review covers current and classical knowledge regarding the positive effects of organic acids on phytase activity and phytate P availability in broiler chickens. Despite the improvements achieved for phytase stability under gastrointestinal conditions, intrinsic characteristics of phytic acid, dietary components and the digestive tract favour phytate formation and, consequently, inhibit the degradation of phytic acid and other inositol phosphates by phytase. Organic acids, more frequently citric acid, have been shown to decrease phytate establishment and enhance phytase activity. When supplemented alone, citric acid increased P retention by 16 to 34% and phytate P retention by 105% in broilers. When combined with phytase, 3.27% better tibia ash has been reported. From the available data, it appears that combined use of phytases and organic acids deserves greater consideration in modern poultry nutrition.
Branch News