Antibiotic-Induced Immunosuppression and Levamisole-Induced Immunopotentiation in Turkeys

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Abstract
The effects of antibiotics and levamisole on the immune responses of turkeys were evaluated. Turkeys which received 3 successive antibiotic treatments [pre-incubation egg-dipping in a solution of tylosin (300 ppm) and gentamicin (500 ppm); day-old gentamicin injection (1 mg/poult); and chlortetracycline in feed (200 g/ton)] and untreated controls were immunized with killed Brucella abortus, Salmonella pullorum antigens and Newcastle disease virus. Treated poults developed significantly less agglutinins or hemagglutination-inhibition antibodies than did untreated controls. The number of poults that failed to respond to primary immunization was greater in the antibiotic-treated than in the control groups. Antibiotic-treated turkeys raised in batteries gained less wt than the control turkeys. Levamisole restored the immune responses in X-irradiated and antibiotic-treated turkeys to a level comparable to that of the controls.