detection of egg yolk immunoglobulin y; a potential source of anti-escherichia coli

E. coli strains can cause a wide variety of intestinal and extra-intestinal diseases. increasing occurrence of antibiotic resistance would complicate the treatment of such diseases. the aim of this study was to detect the egg yolk immunoglobulin y as a potential source of anti-escherichia coli. this study was conducted by using killed e.coli with formaldehyde as antigen. chickens were immunized with 500 µl of antigen diluted in equal volume of freund’s complete adjuvant (fca). booster injections of increasing concentrations of antigen were given to raise the antibody level in serum. the specificity of antibody was confirmed by elisa method. chicken egg yolk antibodies (igy) were raised against e. coli in the serum after injections. up to 1.10000 dilution antibodies were determined in serum, which shows high amount of antibodies are produced in immunized chickens. further studies have to be conducted to evaluate the potency of these antibodies in treatment of variety of diseases. the outcome of this research work would be an alternative to the current antibiotic treatments.