Location: Egg and Poultry Production Safety Research Unit
Project Number: 6040-32000-011-000-D
Project Type: In-House Appropriated
Start Date: Feb 1, 2016
End Date: Jan 18, 2021
Objective:
Objective 1: Identify the environmental drivers impacting the presence and variability of Salmonella enterica serotypes and other common food borne pathogens within local, natural, multi-use poultry production systems.
Objective 2: Determine the linkage between phenotypes and genotypes of Salmonella enterica to find markers associated with colonization or invasion in chickens, as well as patterns of antibiotic resistances present in the poultry production environment.
Objective 3: Test mixtures of Salmonella enterica serotypes that vary in their ability to invade and colonize hens to determine the ability of commensal-like serotypes reduce the ability of pathogenic serotypes to colonize and persist. This information will be used to assess and improve vaccination strategies and reduce the use of antibiotics.
Objective 4: Determine the impact of infectious dosage of the various Salmonella enterica isolates on their ability to colonize and persist in egg-laying hens to facilitate their detection and reduction in poultry.
Approach:
Reducing pathogenic Salmonella enterica in eggs and poultry products is facilitated by generating research that bridges the gap between laboratory and field application. This project focuses on small farms and associated processing facilities, their management practices, and characteristics of Salmonella enterica in these environments. This research will investigate which contributes more to pathogenic Salmonella enterica on-farm, namely environmental factors and management practices versus the genetics of the pathogen. Focusing on local farms facilitates access, consistent sampling schedules and communication with participating farmers. Additional experimentation will focus on the interaction between types of Salmonella enterica that rarely cause disease with those that frequently cause disease. Specifically, we will address how the farm-prevalent serovar Kentucky impacts recovery of invasive serovar Enteritidis from internal organs of hens. Expected outcomes for regulatory agencies, the poultry industry and the consumer include: 1) data-supported approaches for identifying risks associated with contamination of end products; 2) tools that facilitate characterization of Salmonella serovars and how mixtures correlate to epidemiological trends; 3) correlation of genomic markers to antimicrobial resistances present between and within Salmonella serovars; and 4) identification of best practices that help the producer raising smaller flocks reduce pathogens in consumer products. A summary meeting will be held with participating farmers to inform them of results in a confidential setting, and how results might be used to advise management practices such as the decision to vaccinate and to raise mixed species of animals on-farm.
