Reducing Foodborne Pathogen Persistence and Transmission in Animal Production Environments: Challenges and Opportunities

Abstract

Preharvest strategies to reduce zoonotic pathogens in food animals are important components of the farm-to-table food safety continuum. The problem is complex; there are multiple pathogens of concern, multiple animal species under different production and management systems, and a variety of sources of pathogens, including other livestock and domestic animals, wild animals and birds, insects, water, and feed. Preharvest food safety research has identified a number of intervention strategies, including probiotics, direct-fed microbials, competitive exclusion cultures, vaccines, and bacteriophages, in addition to factors that can impact pathogens on-farm, such as seasonality, production systems, diet, and dietary additives. Moreover, this work has revealed both challenges and opportunities for reducing pathogens in food animals. Animals that shed high levels of pathogens and predominant pathogen strains that exhibit long-term persistence appear to play significant roles in maintaining the prevalence of pathogens in animals and their production environment. Continued investigation and advancements in sequencing and other technologies are expected to reveal the mechanisms that result in super-shedding and persistence, in addition to increasing the prospects for selection of pathogen-resistant food animals and understanding of the microbial ecology of the gastrointestinal tract with regard to zoonotic pathogen colonization. It is likely that this continued research will reveal other challenges, which may further indicate potential targets or critical control points for pathogen reduction in livestock. Additional benefits of the preharvest reduction of pathogens in food animals are the reduction of produce, water, and environmental contamination, and thereby lower risk for human illnesses linked to these sources.

Chicken caecal enterotypes in indigenous Kadaknath and commercial Cobb chicken lines are associated with Campylobacter abundance and influenced by farming practices

“…Firstly, intensification increases the chances that potentially zoonotic agents, including avian influenza viruses, may jump from chickens to humans (Dhingra et al, 2018;Gilbert et al, 2021). Secondly, it can raise the likelihood that chicken meat, eggs or waste becomes contaminated by known human pathogens including Campylobacter species, Salmonella enterica serovars and enterotoxigenic strains of Escherichia coli (Berry and Wells, 2016). Thirdly, it increases selection of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) due to increased inappropriate prophylactic or therapeutic use of antibiotics (Rushton et al, 2014;Van Boeckel et al, 2015;Laxminarayan and Chaudhury, 2016;Mahalmani et al, 2019;Murray et al, 2022).…”

Chicken caecal enterotypes in indigenous Kadaknath and commercial Cobb chicken lines are associated with Campylobacter abundance and influenced by farming practices

“…Firstly, intensi cation increases the chances that potentially zoonotic agents, including avian in uenza viruses, may jump from chickens to humans (Dhingra et al, 2018;Gilbert et al, 2021). Secondly, it can raise the likelihood that chicken meat, eggs or waste becomes contaminated by known human pathogens including Campylobacter species, Salmonella enterica serovars and enterotoxigenic strains of Escherichia coli (Berry and Wells, 2016). Thirdly, it increases selection of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) due to increased inappropriate prophylactic or therapeutic use of antibiotics (Laxminarayan and Chaudhury, 2016;Mahalmani et al, 2019;Murray et al, 2022;Rushton et al, 2014;Van Boeckel et al, 2015).…”

Sensitive Immunochromatographic Determination of Salmonella typhimurium in Food Products Using Au@Pt Nanozyme

“…A growing global population and increased food needs lead to the intensification and industrialization of the crop and livestock sectors, which creates not only new opportunities but also new threats and risks to food safety [1]. These threats include foodborne illnesses-infectious diseases or intoxications caused by bacteria, viruses, or parasites that enter the body through contaminated water or food [2]. Foodborne diseases are not only harmful to human health but are a major impediment to socioeconomic development as they put pressure on health systems and harm the national economies, tourism, and trade sectors [3].…”