Researchers at both the institute and company will jointly investigate how Salmonella enters and persists within the bovine lymphatic system and can lead to contamination of beef for human consumption. The teams will work together to develop and implement solutions to reduce the prevalence of Salmonella in meat.

The team of institute researchers, incorporated within the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, include Mark Stevens, chair of microbial pathogenesis; John Hopkins, chair of veterinary immunology; and Jayne Hope, a leading researcher on bovine immunity and mycobacteria.

They are collaborating with Charles Cornell, technical lead for the Cattle Food Safety Vaccine franchise, Veterinary Medicine Research and Development at the company. The BBSRC grant also provides funding for a postdoctoral researcher and a research technician for three years.
 
“Salmonella infections in cattle are significant for two reasons,” Stevens said. “It can cause gastroenteritis and abortion in the animals, thereby harming their productivity and welfare, and contamination of beef and the farm environment can lead to infections in people."
 
Although the animal’s lymphatic system normally helps fight infection, some types of Salmonella have adapted to evade the immune system and survive in lymph nodes.

Advertisement

“Salmonella remains a health concern worldwide and is estimated to cause about 94 million cases of foodborne disease in humans and 155,000 deaths each year,” said Michelle Haven, DVM, the company’s senior vice president of Corporate Development, Alliances and Solutions. “This study is fundamental for developing intervention strategies.  end mark
 
—From The Roslin Institute, BBSRC and Zoetis news release