Probiotics against pathogens in poultry

Over the last decade, Dr Shayan Sharif’s lab at the University of Guelph has been involved in developing probiotic formulations against Salmonella. In the background he explains, “we’ve clearly shown by using combinations of different lactobacilli or lactic acid producing bacteria we can reduce colonisation or burden of salmonella in poultry quite significantly.”

The lab is also working on Campylobacter jejuni, the main notifiable bacterial cause of human enteritis or foodborne illness reported to the Public Health Agency of Canada.

Anti-Campylobacter activities

Dr Sharif’s group is taking a systematic approach to identify and test commensal bacteria from healthy chickens that have anti-Campylobacter activities and also can enhance immune responsiveness in chickens. The goal is to use these bacteria alone or in combination with candidate vaccines for their efficacy against Campylobacter.

Read the full article on Poultry World.