Effect of Campylobacter-specific maternal antibodies on Campylobacter jejuni colonization in young chickens

Using laboratory challenge experiments, we examined whether Campylobacter-specific maternal antibody (MAB) plays a protective role in young chickens, which are usually free of Campylobacter under natural production conditions. Kinetics of C. jejuni colonization were compared by infecting 3-day-old broiler chicks, which were naturally positive for Campylobacter-specific MAB, and 21-day-old broilers, which were negative for Campylobacter-specific MAB. The onset of colonization occurred much sooner in birds challenged at the age of 21 days than it did in the birds inoculated at 3 days of age, which suggested a possible involvement of specific MAB in the delay of colonization. To further examine this possibility, specific-pathogen-free layer chickens were raised under laboratory conditions with or without Campylobacter infection, and their 3-day-old progenies with (MAB(+)) or without (MAB(-)) Campylobacter-specific MAB were orally challenged with C. jejuni. Significant decreases in the percentage of colonized chickens were observed in the MAB(+) group during the first week compared with the MAB(-) group. These results indicate that Campylobacter-specific MAB plays a partial role in protecting young chickens against colonization by C. jejuni. Presence of MAB in young chickens did not seem to affect the development of systemic immune response following infection with C. jejuni. However, active immune responses to Campylobacter occurred earlier and more strongly in birds infected at 21 days of age than those infected at 3 days of age. Clearance of Campylobacter infection was also observed in chickens infected at 21 days of age. Taken together, these findings (i) indicate that anti-Campylobacter MAB contributes to the lack of Campylobacter infection in young broiler chickens in natural environments and (ii) provide further evidence supporting the feasibility of development of immunization-based approaches for control of Campylobacter infection in poultry.