Hen egg yolk antibodies (IgY), production and use for passive immunization against bacterial enteric infections in chicken: a review

Poultry meat is an important food product and the broiler chicken-related industry is an economically important component of the agro-industry in the European Union (EU). The industry however is under pressure and faces many challenges. Most importantly, there is a demand for meat of high nutritional value and free of microbiological and chemical hazards. Unfortunately poultry meat is one of the major sources of food borne bacterial infections in humans such as Salmonellosis (Mayrhofer et al., 2003). In recent decades, Salmonellosis becomes a considerable burden to public health. Salmonella can cause a spectrum of pathological conditions such as acute gastroenteritis and bacteraemia in humans by the mechanisms of colonization, invasion and penetration of the intestinal epithelium (Roberts et al., 1996). In Europe, although Salmonellosis records a fall in the number of cases since 2005, it remains second in the list of human zoonotic diseases across the EU with 160,649 people infected in 2006 (35 cases per 100,000). Two serovars, Salmonella Enteritidis and Salmonella Typhimurium account for most Salmonellosis associated with foods of animal origin (EFSA, 2007). In Belgium, these two serovars accounted for almost 80% of identified serovars in humans in 2006 (Collard et al., 2008). Hen egg yolk antibodies (IgY), production and use for passive immunization against bacterial enteric infections in chicken: a review