avianinsightA L O H M A N N A N I M A L H E A L T H N E W S B R I E F

Reducing Salmonella with Vaccination

Salmonella has been the most common source of foodborne illness in people in the U.S. according to

the Centers for Disease Control, Table 1. Poultry accounts for nearly 17% of these Salmonella illnesses.

The goal for the U.S. “Healthy People 2010” has been to have no more than 6.8 Salmonella cases per 100,000

people in the U.S. However, in 2008, CDC had the U.S. at 16.2 cases per 100,000 people. Therefore, both the

United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have both

By Charles L. Hofacre, John J. Maurer, Roy Berghaus and Stephan Thayer; University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602

inside

Outbreaks of VA in

unprotected chickens

can have economically

devastating conse-

quences. Should a

broiler breeder fl ock

fall victim to an

outbreak of clinical

VA, the unprotected

progeny produced

over the course of

several weeks may

be severely affected

with VA, sometimes

with ancillary enteric

disease and even

immunosuppression.

Reducing Salmonella

with Vaccination, p.1Notes from the

CEO, p.3IPE / IFE 2011,

p.4

Table 1. Foodborne Illness

CDC Data*

2008 2009

Salmonella 7444 cases 7039 cases

Campylobacter 5825 cases 6033 cases

Shigella 3029 cases 1849 cases

Cryptosporidium 1036 cases 1325 cases

E. coli 0157 513 cases 459 cases

E. coli 205 cases 264 cases

* 2008/2009 CDC Foodnet

Volume 1, Winter 2010

0348LAH-USA_AvianInsightFall2010.indd 1 12/8/10 8:52:37 AM

begun new initiatives to lower the level of

Salmonella in broilers and Salmonella En-

teritidis (S.E.) in commercial layers.

We have recently evaluated the effective-

ness of a Salmonella vaccination program

at reducing broiler carcass contamination

with Salmonella, comparing two broiler

companies in the same region of the U.S.

One of the companies participating in the

study had failed a USDA HACCP 51-bird

sample set for carcass contamination

with Salmonella and began a Salmonella

vaccination program in response. Their

vaccination regimen involved the adminis-

tration of a live, attenuated S. Typhimurium

vaccine (AviPro® Megan® VAC1) and two killed

autogenous bacterins consisting of S. berta

and S. Kentucky to the pullets at 10 and 18

weeks of age. Placement of this interven-

tion step at the breeder level was made

under the assumption that a significant

amount of the carcass contamination was

due to vertical transmission of Salmonella

from breeders to their broiler progeny.

The company vaccinating pullets against

Salmonella will be referred to as Company

VAX. The second company was passing

their Salmonella performance standards.

This company, referred to as Company NO

VAX, did not vaccinate their breeders or

broilers against Salmonella. We observed

for Company VAX a marked decrease in

Salmonella prevalence in both breeder

fl ocks (25% VS 57%; p <0.0001) and their

broiler progeny (23% VS 33%; p = 0.005)

compared to Company NO VAX (see Table

2). Fewer Salmonella positive fl ocks were

placed on broiler farms, originating from

the breeder fl ocks vaccinated against

Salmonella (18% vs. 33%; p <0.001). We also

observed lower Salmonella prevalence

for broiler chicken farms contracted with

Company VAX (14% vs. 30%; p <0.001). The

most pronounced reduction in Salmonella

prevalence was observed for broiler chick-

ens originating from vaccinated breeder

fl ocks at the early to mid point in their egg

laying production cycle. It also appears the

vaccination identified proportion of car-

cass contamination attributed to vertical

transmission of Salmonella from breed-

ers to their broiler progeny was reduced.

Salmonella isolates are currently being

“fingerprinted” by pulsed-field gel electro-

phoresis to estimate how much of carcass

contamination is due to vertical trans-

mission. No other management practices

were identified between the two poultry

companies that accounted for reduction in

carcass, other than vaccination.

To date, Company VAX is into their 4th

year of vaccination. The composition

of the killed, Salmonella bacterin has

changed from year to year in accordance

with USDA autogenous regulations and

Salmonella serotypes circulating in breeder

and broiler chicken fl ocks. This company

does their own “in-house” monitoring for

carcass contamination with Salmonella.

They did not observe any significant

change in Salmonella prevalence until

after 6 months of vaccination. This delay

may refl ect the time it takes to replace

older breeder fl ocks with new, vaccinated

birds. Presently, Company VAX is report-

ing zero Salmonella-positive carcasses for

their most recent 51-bird, FSIS sample set.

In a follow-up study that has not yet been

published, Company NO VAX began to

vaccinate their breeders. We followed

6 vaccinated breeders and 6 non-vacci-

nated breeders from day 1 and 29 broiler

fl ocks from each group. The results of this

study, all within the same company, were

nearly identical to the previous study with

Table 2. Correlation Between Vaccination of Pullet Flocks and Salmonella Prevalence in Broiler Chicken Meat Birds

for Two Poultry Integrators

Bird Type Sample NO-VAX VAX P Value

Pullets Dragswabs 40.7% 40.6% 0.987

Breeder Environment 34.0% 35.4% 0.741

Carcasses 57.9% 26.2% <0.001

Broiler Box Liners 33.8% 18.5% <0.001

Dragswabs 30.5% 15.1% <0.001

Carcasses 29.1% 17.0% <0.001

0348LAH-USA_AvianInsightFall2010.indd 2 12/8/10 8:52:48 AM

the vaccinated broilers having 50% less

positive ceca than the broilers from the

non-vaccinated breeders. Additionally, the

broilers from the vaccinated breeders that

did have Salmonella had 50% lower Salmo-

nella counts (MPN’s) in their ceca than the

broilers from non-vaccinated breeders.

Vaccination in these studies does appear

to be an effective intervention that is quite

successful in reducing Salmonella contam-

ination of broiler chicken carcasses. Toya-

ta-Hanatani et al. (2009) have also demon-

strated the effectiveness of vaccination in

reducing S. Enteritidis in commercial table

egg operation (Applied and Environmen-

tal Microbiology volume 75: 1005-1010).

Research is needed to correlate Salmo-

nella antibody titers with protection in

vaccinated fl ocks vs. un-vaccinated birds.

Immunological tools are also needed

to assess and measure a poultry fl ocks’

immune response, immune status, and

antibody titers to Salmonella and deter-

mine whether a vaccination regimen is

working. While Salmonella vaccination

is promising for reducing Salmonella

contamination of meat birds and table

eggs, it should be used as one part of a

comprehensive prevention program that

includes other control measures, and not

as the sole intervention step for control-

ling Salmonella in poultry.

References

1. Dórea FC, Cole DJ, Hofacre C, Zamperini

K, Mathis D, Doyle MP, Lee MD, Maurer JJ.

2010. Effect of Salmonella vaccination

of chicken breeders on reducing car-

cass contamination of broiler chickens

in integrated poultry operations. Appl

Environ Microbiol. [E-pub ahead of

print] PMID: 20889797. (http://www.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20889797 )

Lohmann is at the center of Salmonella

prevention in poultry meat and eggs via

vaccination.

Lohmann Animal Health GmbH in

Germany pioneered live Salmonella

vaccination with our AviPro® Salmonella

Vac E, a safe and effective protection

of laying chickens against Salmonella

enteritidis for the duration of the laying

period after 3 vaccinations.

In the USA, Lohmann Animal Health

International developed and currently

markets two live Salmonella vaccines:

AviPro® Megan® Vac 1 for application

to young growing chickens and AviPro®

Megan® Egg for older birds. AviPro®

Megan® Egg is supported by data show-

ing Salmonella enteritidis protection

throughout the laying period after three

vaccinations. AviPro® Megan® Vac 1 for

application to chicks and young birds

Notes from the CEO

Dave Zacek

CEO, Lohmann Animal Health

provides protection of organs, intes-

tinal tract and ceca from Salmonella

enteritidis, Salmonella typhimurium and

Salmonella Heidelberg.

In addition to our live vaccines, we

also provide AviPro® 109 Se4 inactivated

vaccine alone and in combination with

Newcastle and Infectious Bronchitis for

use in broiler breeders or layers as a final

vaccination(s) in a live-killed program.

Finally, we work directly with large inte-

grations creating autogenous vaccines tai-

lored to fit the specific needs of the site.

We are your avian professionals, with

decades of global experience in Salmo-

nella control for poultry meat and eggs.

Contact us for details.

0348LAH-USA_AvianInsightFall2010.indd 2 12/8/10 8:52:48 AM

for more information: avianinsight (+1) 207-873 3989 (+1) 800-655 1342 www.lahinternational.com

Lohmann Animal Health International375 China RoadWinslow, Maine 04901, USA

According to the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC), Salmonella infections remain as one of the major causes of human food poisoning in the United States, with domestic poultry considered as a main reservoir for Salmonella infections in humans.

For your complete Salmonella prevention program, we offer the only proven live vaccine, AviPro® Megan® Egg, to provide unsurpassed protection from SE infections. Our patented AviPro®

Megan® Vac 1 and AviPro® Megan® Egg vaccines are backed by numerous academic and US FDA and USDA clinical studies.

In addition, learn more about Salmonella prevention pro-grams from Lohmann Animal Health International Technical Services Veterinarian Dr. Ivan Alvarado. As part of the IPE/IFE Tech Xchange series on topical industry subjects, Ivan will present Control of Poultry Salmonellosis: Role of Live Attenuated Vaccines, on Wednesday, Jan. 26 at 11:40 am in Hall A. He will focus on how an effective prevention and control program must involve several simultaneous approaches with vaccination being a major component.

We look forward to seeing you at the show.

Lohmann Animal Health International Features Salmonella Prevention Products at IPE/IFE 2011Come See Us at Booth 1953 Hall A and at the Tech Xchange Seminars.