Source: Michael Fielding, MEATINGPLACE, 7/21/15

Contrary to previous research, chickens can be infected by multiple salmonella strains at the same time, according to a University of Arkansas graduate student.

Yichao Yang, a graduate student in the Department of Poultry Science, is analyzing how salmonella is transmitted within a chicken flock to find a way to prevent the spread of the major foodborne pathogen.

Yang used genetically identifiable strains of the bacteria, allowing her to trace them as they spread from chicken to chicken.
“My research work focuses on drawing an exact picture of how salmonella is transmitted when it is introduced into a chicken,” said Yang, who presented her findings last month at the American Society of Microbiology’s 115th meeting in New Orleans.

To track transmission pathways, Yang constructed a set of six identical but genetically marked strains by inserting six random nucleotides into the chromosome of Salmonella enteritidis, a strain of salmonella recognized for causing foodborne illnesses. The nucleotides made each strain traceable as they spread throughout the flock.

“This is a pretty big finding, and I did not recognize it at first because a major theory in the field of salmonella transmission — called the colonization inhibition theory — says that if one strain of salmonella infects a chick, a second strain cannot infect the chick, suggesting there might be unknown mechanisms involved,” Yang explained in a news release.

The Centers for Disease Control estimates that salmonella causes 1 million illnesses in the United States every year. Despite salmonella being recognized as a major foodborne pathogen, the mechanism by which the bacteria are transmitted within a poultry flock is still poorly understood.

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