Poultry coccidiosis results in about US$3 billion global production losses per year, and is managed by prophylactic antimicrobial use. Lessard et al. have developed chicken feed based on transgenic corn for mitigating coccidiosis, resulting in reduced intestinal lesions and improved body weight and feed conversion in Eimeria-infected corn-fed animals compared to untreated controls. Corn-fed and salinomycin-treated birds had comparable outcomes, indicating potential for antimicrobial-free management of coccidiosis.
- Philip A. Lessard
- Matthew Parker
- R. Michael Raab
