Prevention of egg transmission of Mycoplasma meleagridis by antibiotic treatment of naturally and experimentally infected turkey eggs

Turkey eggs infected naturally and experimentally and treated with 1 mg of tylosin or gentamicin before incubation produced progeny with less infection with Mycoplasma meleagridis than did infected but untreated eggs. Higher doses of gentamicin eliminated infection, as indicated by an absence of M. meleagridis antibodies in poults tested at 3 weeks and retested at 5 weeks of age. The rate of reduction or elimination of egg transmission was correlated negatively with the incidence of M. meleagridis infection in untreated controls. Hatchability was reduced by gentamicin, especially at doses of 1.75 and 2 mg, whereas tylosin at 1 mg/egg improved hatchability.