Phagovet

Bacteriophage for Salmonella Typhimurium Control in Chicken Meat

Outbreaks of foodborne illness caused by bacteria such as Salmonella continue to be a major concern for the poultry industry.

While conventional methods such as disinfectants, antibiotics and vaccines have proven largely ineffective in eliminating these pathogens, new solutions are currently being explored.

One promising option is the use of lytic bacteriophages, viruses that target and destroy bacterial cells.

In a recent study, 20 different phages that infect Salmonella were isolated from the natural environment and cocktail mixtures were tested on contaminated poultry meat. These phages showed significant reductions in Salmonella populations, suggesting they could be used as an effective alternative to traditional control measures.

Given the challenges posed by antibiotic resistance and foodborne disease outbreaks, the use of targeted bacteriophages offers great potential for improving microbial safety in the poultry industry.

The authors Matías Aguilera, Sofía Martínez, Mario Tello, María José Gallardo, and Verónica García published their findings in the article Use of Cocktail of Bacteriophage for Salmonella Typhimurium Control in Chicken Meat, dated 17 April 2022.

Topics:

  • Foodborne diseases are a major public health concern due to the high number of people affected each year.
  • The food industry has implemented microbiological control plans to ensure the quality and safety of its products; however, due to the high prevalence of foodborne diseases, the industry requires new microbiological control systems.
  • One of the main causative agents of diseases transmitted by poultry meat is Salmonella enterica. Disinfectants, antibiotics, and vaccines are used to control this pathogen; however, they have not been efficient in eliminating these bacteria.
  • The search for new technologies to reduce microbial contamination in poultry continues to be a necessity and lytic bacteriophages is one solution.
  • In this study, 20 bacteriophages were isolated for Salmonella spp., three belonging to Siphoviridae family and two Microviridae family. This cocktail was tested on chicken meat infected with Salmonella Typhimurium at 10 °C and found that it was capable reducing bacterial levels by 1.4 logarithmic units at 48 h comparedto the control group .
Use of Cocktail of Bacteriophage for Salmonella Typhimurium Control in Chicken Meat

Abstract

Foodborne diseases are extremely relevant and constitute an area of alert for public health authorities due to the high impact and number of people affected each year.

The food industry has implemented microbiological control plans that ensure the quality and safety of its products; however, due to the high prevalence of foodborne diseases, the industry requires new microbiological control systems.

One of the main causative agents of diseases transmitted by poultry meat is the bacterium Salmonella enterica. Disinfectants, antibiotics, and vaccines are used to control this pathogen.

However, they have not been efficient in the total elimination of these bacteria, with numerous outbreaks caused by this bacterium observed today, in addition to the increase in antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The search for new technologies to reduce microbial contamination in the poultry industry continues to be a necessity and the use of lytic bacteriophages is one of the new solutions.

In this study, 20 bacteriophages were isolated for Salmonella spp. obtained from natural environments and cocktails composed of five of them were designed, where three belonged to the Siphoviridae family and two to the Microviridae family.

This cocktail was tested on chicken meat infected with Salmonella Typhimurium at 10 °C, where it was found that this cocktail was capable of decreasing 1.4 logarithmic units at 48 h compared to the control.

Keywords: Salmonella; bacteriophages; food borne illness; poultry.

Copyright: the authors.