Managing Salmonella Enteritidis in the Australian Chicken Meat Industry

While there are low numbers of isolations of locally acquired Australian clades of SE from broilers the potential for these strains to survive the production chain and cause human disease is largely unknown. These local SE strains have not caused major outbreaks and appear to differ from classical and highly virulent exotic strains (Clade B). This project will assess the survival of these local clade A and C strains through broiler production by assessing the colonization of broilers and broiler layers. Quantification of SE strains at slaughter age will provide information into the assessment of the risk to human health. The propensity to colonize or infect humans will not be directly included in this study but rather assessed through analysis of pathogenicity traits. Later stages of the project will then examine the survival of SE through processing through mimicking processing stressors. Implications, if any, for the chicken meat SE strategy will be highlighted.