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Article History

Received: 27 October 2025

Accepted: 10 February 2026

First Online: 12 March 2026

Declarations

:

: The study was conducted in accordance with the Municipal Ordinance of the Metropolitan District of Quito (No. 019-2020) and Resolution 0227 of AGROCALIDAD. Ethical approval was granted by the Animal Research and Teaching Ethics Committee of Universidad San Francisco de Quito (CEIDA-USFQ; approval number 2025-004). Sample collection was performed in adherence to high standards of veterinary care, and written informed consent was obtained from the participating poultry company. All procedures complied with institutional, national, and international guidelines for animal welfare, and no additional interventions beyond routine farm practices were performed.

: Not applicable.

: One of the co-authors, Dr. Sonia Zapata, is the founder of a startup related to phage therapy. However, the experiments and analyses presented in this study were conducted independently and prior to the establishment of the company. The company had no role in the study design, data collection, analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The authors declare that they have no competing interests that could have influenced the outcome or interpretation of the work.