Protective effect of hyperimmune egg yolk IgY antibodies against Eimeria tenella and Eimeria maxima infections

DOI: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2009.04.020

Summary:  In this randomized controlled trial, young chicks from hatch were continuously fed a comercially available powder which contained a fraction of purified IgY which was immunized with three major species of Eimeria oocysts. Chicks fed the IgY source, howed significantly less intestinal lesions and reduced fecal oocyst output compared to the untreated controls following oral infections with E. tenella and E. maxima. These results provide clear evidence that passive immunization of chicks with hyperimmune egg yolk IgY antibodies provide significant protection against E. tenella or E. maxima infections.

Research paper authors: S H Lee, H S Lillehoj, D W Park, S I Jang, A Morales, D García, E Lucio, R Larios, G Victoria, D Marrufo, Erik P Lillehoj