Timing and delivery route effects of cecal microbiome transplants on Salmonella Typhimurium infections in chickens: potential for in-hatchery delivery of microbial interventions.

Background: Exposure to microbes early in life has long-lasting effects on microbial community structure and function of the microbiome. However, in commercial poultry settings chicks are reared as a single-age cohort with no exposure to adult birds which can have profound effects on microbiota development and subsequent pathogen challenge. Microbiota manipulation is a proven and promising strategy to help reduce pathogen load and transmission within broiler flocks.

Genome-wide fitness analyses of the foodborne pathogen Campylobacter jejuni in in vitro and in vivo models.

Campylobacter is the most common cause of foodborne bacterial illness worldwide. Faecal contamination of meat, especially chicken, during processing represents a key route of transmission to humans. There is a lack of insight into the mechanisms driving C.

Identification and initial characterisation of a protein involved in Campylobacter jejuni cell shape.

Campylobacter jejuni is the leading cause of bacterial food borne illness. While helical cell shape is considered important for C. jejuni pathogenesis, this bacterium is capable of adopting other morphologies.

Carriage of antimicrobial resistant Escherichia coli in dogs: Prevalence, associated risk factors and molecular characteristics.

Resistance to antimicrobials, in particular that mediated by extended spectrum β-lactamases (ESBL) and AmpC β-lactamases are frequently reported in bacteria causing canine disease as well as in commensal bacteria, which could be a potential health risk for humans they come into contact with. This cross-sectional study aimed to estimate the prevalence and investigate the molecular characteristics of ESBL and plasmid encoded AmpC (pAmpC)-producing E. coli in the mainland UK vet-visiting canine population and, using responses from detailed questionnaires identify factors associated with their carriage.

Carriage of Staphylococcus species in the veterinary visiting dog population in mainland UK: molecular characterisation of resistance and virulence.

This study investigated the prevalence of nasal carriage of staphylococci in dogs and determined the characteristics of the isolates. A total of 724 dogs from 87 veterinary practices across the mainland UK were screened for carriage of Staphylococcus spp. All isolates were examined for meticillin resistance (MR) and the presence of the mecA gene investigated in those isolates showing resistance.

Characterization of a novel EAST-negative enteropathogenic E. coli strain implicated in a food-borne outbreak of diarrhoea in adults.

Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) is usually associated with outbreaks and sporadic cases of severe infantile diarrhoea in the developing world, and less commonly with sporadic cases in developed countries. Very little evidence indicates that EPEC is a food-borne pathogen for adults. In a previous study, two groups of adult travellers became ill, and eae(+) E.