Chicken Flock Study to Better Understand Salmonella Transmission Makes Novel Discovery

(Before It's News)

Despite Salmonella being the most common illness-causing foodborne bacteria in the U.S. food system, still very little is known about the precise processes through which the bacterium contaminates and transmits among its most pervasive carriers: chickens.

New research from the University of Arkansas, however, is aiming to bridge the gap in knowledge about how Salmonella infects such a large percentage of poultry.

If the researchers can map out the process, food safety scientists stand a better chance of developing a method to stop it in its tracks and keep it from spreading, said Yichao Yang, lead researcher of the study and a doctoral candidate at the university’s Department of Poultry Science.

To reach the goal of clearly mapping out the Salmonella transmission process within flocks, Yang has designed a novel testing scheme. The tests are still in their preliminary stage, she told Food Safety News, but they are already seeing some interesting results.

Using six unique strains of Salmonella with a specific DNA identification, and one initial carrier chicken for each of the unique strains, the researchers worked to map out how the bacteria moved through a Salmonella-free flock.

Each of the six carrier chickens were infected with the bacteria via one of three methods: orally (direct), through feed, or through the water supply. Between those three methods, one chicken was given a low dose of Salmonella, while another was given a high dose.

The six infected chickens were then placed in a flock with 10 Salmonella-free peers. After seven days, the chickens given the high doses had spread their infections to the rest of the flock. By 14 days, even the low-dose strains had permeated throughout the flock.

The research team is still working to map out exactly how each infection spread and plans to conduct further trials with larger flocks. In the meantime, they’ve made at least one novel discovery: Chickens can be infected with more than one strain of Salmonella.

Previously, research into Salmonella in flocks suggested that once a chicken was colonized by one strain of Salmonella, that strain would prevent others from further colonizing the bird. This is known as the colonization inhibition theory, Yang said.

But, according to this research, chickens can indeed be infected with more than one unique strain.

Knowing that their preliminary study is already leading to new discoveries related to Salmonella transmission in flocks has made Yang and her team even more optimistic about making further discoveries. The eventual goal is helping to reduce the spread of Salmonella to chickens and, further down the line, humans.

“If we know exactly how Salmonella transmits in chickens, we’ll be able to know how it’s coming into the flock,” Yang said. “We believe we can stop the transmission if we know how it occurs and therefore stop transfer into the human food chain.”

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