Efficacy of Some Selected Antimicrobial Substances in Prevention of Enteric Bacterial Infection in Broiler Chicks

This study was carried out to investigate the efficacy of autogenous bacterin from enteric bacteria isolated from chicken feeds, commercially prepared probiotic, conventional antibiotics as well as Zingiber officinale extract in prevention of enteric bacterial infection in broiler chickens. A total of 1,536 samples of different brands of chicken feeds were collected and screened for the presence of enteric bacteria using pour plate technique.The pathogenic potentials of the isolates on chickens were investigated by challenging the chickens orally using 0.5 ml of the inoculum (108cells/ml). The efficacy of locally prepared autogenous bacterin (AB), commercially prepared probiotics (CP), autogenous bacterin plus probiotics (ABCP), ciprofloxacin (CPX), Oxytetracycline (OXY) and Zingiber officinale (ZO) extract were investigated using in vivo method. The titer of antibodies produced by the vaccinated chickens was determined using micro agglutination test. Escherichia coli O157:H7 SS52 (EC), Salmonella ser. Typhimurium U288 (ST), Escherichia coli SEC470 (ES), Salmonella ser. Enteritidis YU39 (SY) and Salmonella ser. Enteritidis FM366 (SE) were isolated from the feed samples. There were significant obvious pathological signs and lesions in the internal organs of the infected non-protected chickens, which decreased significantly (P<0.05) when the chicks were protected with CP, ZO, CPX, OXY and ABCP. The internal organs of the infected non-protected chickens showed high viable mean plate counts (VMPCs) and these were significantly (P<0.05) decreased when protected with the antimicrobial agents, of which the VMPCs of ABCP were the least. Moreover, the serological investigation revealed an improvement in the titer of antibiotics after vaccination and probiotic treatment. The tested antimicrobial agents have proved to be safe and effective against the isolates, of which ABCP showed the most pronounced activity. Keywords: Enteric Bacteria, autogenous Bacterin, Zingiber officinale, ciprofloxacin, probiotic, Oxytetracycline

Sequential Pathological Study of Fowl Typhoid in Experimentally Infected Chicks

This study was undertaken to examine the sequential pathological study of fowl typhoid disease in experimentally infected chicks. A total of 40 chicken feed samples was randomly collected from different shops in Ihiala market and screened for Salmonella enterica serovar Gallinarum using pour plate method. The isolate obtained was characterized and identified using the morphological and biochemical characteristics. The pathogenic potential of the isolate on day old chicks was investigated by challenging the day old chicks orally using 0.5ml of the inoculum (108cells/ml). All the chicks were kept under complete examination for 2 weeks for obvious pathological signs and lesions. Salmonella enterica serovar Gallinarum was detected in 13(32.5%) chicken feed samples analyzed. Obvious pathological signs and lesions were significantly (P˂0.5) seen among the infected chicks whereas the non-infected chicks showed no obvious pathological signs. The internal organs (liver and spleen) of the infected chicks showed significant (P˂0.5) viable counts of the challenged organism, which was mostly recorded in the spleen. This study has shown that Salmonella enterica serovar Gallinarum isolated from chicken feed samples exhibited reasonable pathological features among the infected chicks

Democracy, Globalization and Private Investment in Ghana

The article examines the effects of democracy and globalization on private investment in Ghana for the period 1980–2012, using the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bounds test for cointegration and the error correction model (ECM). Two models are used. In Model 1, democracy is proxy by an index for institutional quality (Polity 2), while Model 2 uses an index for civil liberties as proxy for democracy. The results for Model 1 show globalization and public investment increase private investment, while exchange rate volatility and trade openness decrease private investment in both the long and short run. In addition, national income and interest rate reduce private investment in the short run. In the case of Model 2, credit to the private sector and public investment increase private investment, while exchange rate volatility and trade openness decrease private investment in both the long and short run. Finally, national income and interest rate reduce private investment in the short run. The findings and policy recommendations of the article provide vital information for policy implementation in Ghana