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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Ames, Iowa » National Animal Disease Center » Food Safety and Enteric Pathogens Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #415165
Research Project: Analysis of Genetic Factors that Increase Foodborne Pathogen Fitness, Virulence, and Antimicrobial Resistance Transfer, to Identify Interventions against Salmonella and Campylobacter in Food Animals

Location: Food Safety and Enteric Pathogens Research

Title: A live, attenuated vaccine reduces the human foodborne pathogen Salmonella in commercial poultry

Author
item Bearson, Shawn
item Bearson, Bradley - Brad
item Monson, Melissa
item WHELAN, SAMUEL - Oak Ridge Institute For Science And Education (ORISE)

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/10/2024
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The human foodborne pathogen Salmonella frequently colonizes food animals without causing apparent clinical signs, resulting in unrecognized Salmonella transmission and environmental contamination. Elimination of Salmonella from our food supply is further hampered by the ubiquitous nature of the greater than 2,600 serovars of Salmonella. In the U.S., multidrug-resistant (MDR) Salmonella enterica serovar Infantis (S. Infantis) has emerged in both the chicken and turkey industries as a contamination problem in poultry products, posing a threat to public health. With the goal of identifying interventions to reduce Salmonella in food animals, the current study evaluated a live, attenuated Salmonella vaccine in poultry obtained from a commercial hatchery for reduction in S. Infantis colonization of intestinal tissues and dissemination to systemic sites. Birds were vaccinated at one-day of age, booster vaccinated at 2-3 weeks of age, and challenged at ~5 weeks of age with 5x108 colony forming units of S. Infantis. At 7- and 14-days post-challenge, the attenuated S. Typhimurium (serogroup B) vaccine significantly reduced S. Infantis (serogroup C) colonization of the cecum, a preferred site of intestinal colonization in birds that typically exhibits the highest level and longest duration of Salmonella colonization. Vaccination also significantly decreased systemic dissemination of S. Infantis to the spleen and bone marrow compared to non-vaccinated birds. The S. Infantis challenge strain contained the pESI megaplasmid, and virulence mechanism(s) residing on this plasmid may support dissemination and/or colonization of systemic niches within the host. In summary, the serogroup B S. Typhimurium vaccine cross-protected against serogroup C S. Infantis by significantly decreasing intestinal colonization and systemic dissemination in the birds, which could contribute to the reduction of poultry-related foodborne disease.