LS-50 as vaccine

[Frenchchickens123]

Hi, I don't know if anyone can help me. I have had mycoplasma in my flock and reoccurs quite frequently. I do have flocks of multi age which I know doesn't help. I have been using tylan soluble as a treatment. I do regularly hatch chicks for meat. Now obviously chooks for meat have not been getting upto weight as quickly as I would like (due to mycoplasma). So I was doing some research and found some websites saying that LS-50 can be used as a vaccine against myco, cholera and CRD. Apparently it should be given to chicks from day 1-7 and then again at 4 weeks of age and then can be given an annual booster. Has anyone tried this and does it work? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[Anianna]

Mycoplasma and its treatments are discussed here. Quoted below for convenience.

Mycoplasma gallisepticum

Synonyms: MG, chronic respiratory disease (CRD), infectious sinusitis, mycoplasmosis

Species affected: chickens, turkeys, pigeons, ducks, peafowl and passerine birds.

Clinical signs: Clinical symptoms vary slightly between species. Infected adult chickens may show no outward signs if infection is uncomplicated. However, sticky, serous exudate from nostrils, foamy exudate in eyes, and swollen sinuses can occur, especially in broilers. The air sacs may become infected. Infected birds can develop respiratory rales and sneeze. Affected birds are often stunted and unthrifty (see Table 1 ).

There are two forms of this disease in the turkey. With the "upper form" the birds have watery eyes and nostrils, the infraorbitals (just below the eye) become swollen, and the exudate becomes caseous and firm. The birds have respiratory rales and show unthriftiness.

With the "lower form", infected turkeys develop airsacculitis. As with chickens, birds can show no outward signs if the infection is uncomplicated. Thus, the condition may go unnoticed until the birds are slaughtered and the typical legions are seen. Birds with airsacculitis are condemned.

MG in chicken embryos can cause dwarfing, airsacculitis, and death.

Transmission: MG can be spread to offspring through the egg. Most commercial breeding flocks, however, are MG-free. Introduction of infected replacement birds can introduce the disease to MG-negative flocks. MG can also be spread by using MG-contaminated equipment.

Treatment : Outbreaks of MG can be controlled with the use of antibiotics. Erythromycin, tylosin, spectinomycin, and lincomycin all exhibit anti-mycoplasma activity and have given good results. Administration of most of these antibiotics can be by feed, water or injection. These are effective in reducing clinical disease. However, birds remain carriers for life.

Prevention: Eradication is the best control of mycoplasma disease. The National Poultry Improvement Plan monitors all participating chicken and turkey breeder flocks.

Mycoplasma synoviae

Synonyms: MS, infectious synovitis, synovitis, silent air sac

Species affected: chickens and turkeys.

Clinical signs: Birds infected with the synovitis form show lameness, followed by lethargy, reluctance to move, swollen joints, stilted gait, loss of weight, and formation of breast blisters. Birds infected with the respiratory form exhibit respiratory distress. Greenish diarrhea is common in dying birds (see Table 1 ). Clinically, the disease in indistinguishable from MG.

Transmission: MS is transmitted from infected breeder to progeny via the egg. Within a flock, MS is spread by direct contact with infected birds as well as through airborne particles over short distances.

Treatment: Recovery is slow for both respiratory and synovitis forms. Several antibiotics are variably effective. The most effective are tylosin, erthromycin, spectinomycin, lincomycin, and chlorotectracycline. These antibiotics can be given by injection while some can be administered in the feed or drinking water. These treatments are most effective when the antibiotics are injected.

Prevention: Eradication is the best and only sure control. Do not use breeder replacements from flocks that have had MS. The National Poultry Improvement Plan monitors for MS.

Mycoplasma meleagridis

Synonyms: MM, N strain, H strain

Species affected: MM affects turkeys of all ages, although poults are affected more severely than mature turkeys. Recently, MM has been shown to infect pigeon, quail and peafowl.

Clinical signs: A drop-off in production and hatchability can be expected in breeder flocks. There can be very high mortality in young poults. Unthriftiness, respiratory distress, stunting, crooked neck with deformity of cervical vertebrae, and leg deformation are common in young birds (see Table 1 ).

Transmission: Egg transmission is low in the early breeding period, but rises as the the age of the flock increases. Infections can be introduced into a flock by contaminated equipment, shoes, and clothing of workers and visitors.

Treatment: Several antibiotics have been effective including tylosin, erythromycin, spectinomycin, and linco-spectinomycin.

Prevention: The best preventive measure is to keep MM-free breeders. The MM-free status of breeders can be confirmed by periodic blood tests through the National Poultry Improvement Plan.

Are you certain it is Mycoplasma? You can contact your local extension office regarding testing and they may have some recommendations for you, as well.​

 

[Frenchchickens123]

Hi, yea pretty sure it's MG. Haven't had my flock tested for it but all symptoms match exactly. I live in France so it's hard as my partner doesn't see the point in testing for this and there aren't any avian specialists in the area. All the vet could do was give me antibs. I'm not too keen on culling 50 chickens either to start again especially when it's hard to find hatcheries in this area that have myco free stock. Many chickens sold here are from markets so you can never be sure of what you get. So I was looking into using LS-50 as a vaccine just to stop clinical signs which would make me and my chooks less stressed and obviously not ill. I was hoping then that my meat chickens will grow normally and more quickly than they have been. I have had one broiler with very stunted growth still looks like a 4/5 week old chick yet it's over 20 weeks old now.

 

[Anianna]

LS-50 does contain Lincomycin hydrochloride which is equivalent to lincomycin and Spectinomycin sulfate tetrahydrate which is equivalent to spectinomycin, both of which can be used for MG. I'd say it's a fine option to try.