New research from the University of Guelph will focus on determining if bacteriophages can replace antibiotics to reduce the incidence of Salmonella in poultry.
“Those of us in academia are really interested in helping the industry find solutions to the issues that they’re facing, especially when it comes to finding ways to reduce antimicrobial use,” Nicole Ricker, assistant professor, Department of Pathobiology, University of Guelph, said.
“We’re really focused on what other alternatives can we help develop or find that can better support poultry health while they make this transition to using fewer antimicrobials.”
The research project is funded by the Canadian Poultry Research Council and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC). Ricker will collaborate with Dr. Hany Anany, bacteriophage research scientist, AAFC, on the project.
Phage technology
Bacteriophages or phage technology harness viruses to target and destroy bacterial cells on a surface or in an organism. Phages are harmless to people, only activating when a specific bacterium is present.
“Phages only infect very specific bacteria. Unlike antimicrobials that might take out all the good bacteria as well as the bad bacteria, when you’re using phages, they’re really targeted to the specific organism you’re trying to control,” explained Ricker.
The goal of the project is to develop a readily available phage product capable of reducing Salmonella in poultry and poultry housing.
Salmonella is gram-negative anaerobic bacterium that is responsible for approximately 1.35 million illnesses, 26,500 hospitalizations and 420 deaths in the U.S. each year, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The bacteria has become increasingly multi-drug resistant, making it more difficult to treat.
