BACTERIAL CONTAMINATION OF RABBITS INTERNAL ORGANS AND MEAT DURING STRESS

Bacterial translocation is defined as the passage of viable bacteria from the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) into extraintestinal sites, such as mesenteric lymph nodes complex, liver, spleen, kidneys, meat, and bloodstream. This article describes the studies' results of the contamination of internal organs and meat. To study the effect of heat stress on intestinal permeability in rabbits, a study was conducted under standard vivarium conditions using six male rabbits. All animals were exposed to high temperatures. Animals of the experimental group received an intramuscular injection of emulsion with ultrafine silver particles (USP) at the dose of 0.01 mg/kg, to reduce intestinal permeability, seven days before exposure to stress. The translocation of bacteria to the liver, lungs, and spleen was enterobacteria from 2.1 to 6.6 lg CFU, enterococci from 18.3 to 19.3 lg CFU; and to blood 8.6 and 13.2 lg CFU, respectively. Injection of USP at the dose of 0.01 mg/kg body weight led to a sharp decrease in translocation of bacteria to internal organs. Evaluation of meat productivity showed the superiority of the rabbits of the experimental group in terms of hot carcass weight by 7.8% (p = 0.05), slaughter weight by 6.2% (p = 0.05), slaughter yield by 0.5%. No enterococci or enterobacteria were found in the meat of rabbits that received USP injection. Disciplinary: Animal Science, Biological Sciences. (c) 2020 INT TRANS J ENG MANAG SCI TECH.